ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Quality

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 258W, on air quality, what progress has been made towards bringing the standard of air quality in the Stockport part of Denton and Reddish constituency to within the guideline limits.

Ben Bradshaw: Local authorities have a duty under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to review and assess the current, and likely future, air quality in their areas. Where local authorities consider that one or more of the nationally prescribed air quality objectives for each of the seven pollutants is unlikely to be met by the relevant deadline, they must declare an air quality management area (AQMA), covering the area where the problem is expected. These local authorities must then take action, along with other agencies and organisations, to work towards meeting the air quality objectives.
	Stockport MBC initially declared AQMAs for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and particles (PM 1 0 ) in December 2001. It was subsequently predicted that the national objective for particles would not in fact be exceeded in Stockport. A new AQMA declaration in July 2005 replaced the 2001 declaration, and relates to nitrogen dioxide only. The AQMA covers single roads and groups of roads and areas close to them across the borough, including some in the north of the borough, in the Denton and Reddish constituency. Stockport MBC, in conjunction with the other Greater Manchester local authorities, produced a joint air quality action plan (linked with the Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan) which was publicly consulted upon in June 2004; my Department also commented on the plan. The action plan includes a range of both Greater Manchester-wide and borough-specific measures. Stockport are now engaged in implementing measures to work towards meeting the air quality objectives. The measures are aimed at traffic reduction and modal shift from cars to other forms of transport and include park and ride/walk schemes, green travel plans, and quality bus corridors. In the most recent Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan Progress Report (2005), Stockport MBC reported that they were on schedule in implementing the majority of their borough-specific measures.
	Greater Manchester authorities are now working closely with transport planners in finalising the new Local Transport Plan (LTP) which is due by the end of March 2006. Including measures within the LTP should also help increase the capacity to deliver cleaner air within the AQMAs.
	The Government are also currently undertaking a review of the air quality strategy to identify potential new additional measures to move us closer to meeting the air quality objectives and generate cost-effective health benefits.

Air Quality

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, columns 258–9W, on air quality, what recent assessment has been made of air quality standards in the Stockport part of Denton and Reddish constituency.

Ben Bradshaw: Local authorities have a duty under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to review and assess the current, and likely future, air quality in their areas. Guidance on reviews and assessments are available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/lagm/guidance/index.htm and http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airguality/lagm/guidance/pdf/lagm-tg03.pdf.
	Stockport MBC submitted their last Updating and Screening Assessment in November 2003. Stockport subsequently carried out a Detailed Assessment in respect of nitrogen dioxide and particles (PM 1 0 ), which was submitted to my Department in December 2004, and they submitted a Progress Report in May 2005. In light of the conclusions of the Detailed Assessment, Stockport amended their AQMA declaration in July 2005. The AQMA was enlarged with respect to nitrogen dioxide, but the particles objective was removed from the declaration. The AQMA covers single roads and groups of roads and areas close to them across the borough, including some in the north of the borough, within the Denton and Reddish constituency. As part of their review and assessment work, Stockport MBC continue to monitor nitrogen dioxide at roadside locations in the north of the borough.
	The next round of review and assessments has now started and local authorities are asked to submit a new Updating and Screening Assessment by end of April 2006. Copies of all the review and assessment reports are available from the following contact at Stockport MBC stephen.brown@stockport.gov.uk or air.group@stock port.gov.uk.

Anti-social Behaviour Act

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions powers introduced in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 have been used to deal with environmental crime.

Ben Bradshaw: The following figures are available on the use of new powers introduced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 for tackling enviro-crime:
	Sections 40–41 introduced the power for local authorities to shut noisy premises for up to 24 hours in order to address or prevent a public nuisance. We do not have information on how many times this power has been used.
	Section 42 removed the requirement for local authorities to adopt the Noise Act 1996 and provide a specific level of noise service before the Noise Act 1996 could be used. In 2004–05, one fixed penalty notice was issued by local authorities in England for night noise offences.
	Sections 43–47 introduced new fixed penalty notices for graffiti and flyposting. In 2004–05, 19 fixed penalties were issued by local authorities in England for graffiti offences and 57 for fly-posting.
	Sections 48–52 introduced a power for local authorities to issue Graffiti Removal Notices requiring the clean-up of property defaced by graffiti; however, these powers have so far been available only in 12 pilot areas and the Government are not aware of any notices having been issued. This is largely due to the establishment of partnership arrangements in these areas for dealing with graffiti defacement.
	Section 54 made it an offence to sell aerosol paints to under 16-year-olds. No records of prosecutions under s.54 of the Act were notified for 2003 and 2004. Statistics for 2005 will be published in the autumn.
	Section 55 extended certain enforcement powers to local authorities for use when investigating fly-tipping offences. No national data are collected on how frequently these powers are used as this is a matter for local authorities based on local enforcement policies. There is anecdotal evidence, however, that local authorities have been using these powers, particularly the stop and search powers, and that they have been extremely helpful to them when dealing with fly-tipping offences.

Avian Influenza

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to protect bird populations in zoos and aviaries from avian influenza; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has issued extensive guidance to all bird keepers, including specific guidance for zoos, on the biosecurity measures that will protect their birds from avian influenza.
	We have also planned for a possible preventive vaccination programme against avian influenza for zoo birds in the UK, for conservation purposes. This will be based on a veterinary risk assessment. As part of our planning, we have ordered 2.3 million doses of vaccine as a contingency reserve for zoo birds.
	However, at the present level of risk, currently available vaccines do not make vaccination effective or efficient. A high standard of biosecurity, separation from wild birds and careful surveillance for signs of disease are the most effective means of prevention.

Badger Cull

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate has been made of the annual cost of (a) purchase of equipment, (b) transport, (c) staff training, (d) employment and salary and (e) other costs in relation to carrying out a large-scale badger cull in England.

Ben Bradshaw: We are currently analysing the responses to a public consultation on both the principle and method of introducing a badger culling policy. No decisions have yet been made. A partial regulatory impact assessment was published alongside the consultation document and is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/badgers-tbcontrols/partial-ria.pdf.

Badger Cull

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effects of culling badgers on reducing bovine tuberculosis in cattle; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Recent research from the randomised badger culling trial (RBCT), together with the results from the Republic of Ireland's four area badger culling trial and other scientific evidence, has shown that culling badgers in hotspot areas can help reduce the incidence of disease in cattle. However, there is still enough scientific uncertainty—in particular about the potential risk of increasing bovine TB in herds surrounding areas in which badgers have been culled and different culling strategies—to make it important to consult on the principle as well as the method of badger controls.
	A public consultation on both the principle and method of a badger culling policy in areas of high TB incidence in cattle was launched on 15 December 2005. The deadline has now passed and we are currently considering the responses received.

Badger Cull

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost of culling badgers in each of the (a) last five years and (b) next three years; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The randomised badger culling trial (RBCT) began in 1998 and the culling element of the trial ended in October 2005, with some surveying work continuing. The costs shown in the table include the field trial, analysis and audit elements of the trial.
	
		
			  £ millions 
		
		
			 2000–01 6.6 
			 2001–02 6.0 
			 2002–03 6.6 
			 2003–04 7.3 
			 2004–05 7.2 
		
	
	We are currently analysing the responses to a public consultation on both the principle and method of introducing a badger culling policy. No decisions have yet been made. A partial regulatory impact assessment was published alongside the consultation document and is available on the DEFRA website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/badgers-tbcontrols/partial-ria.pdf.

Badger Cull

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to charge farmers for culling badgers on their property; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We have recently concluded a public consultation on both the principle and method of a badger culling policy to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in high incidence areas in England. We are in the process of analysing responses. No decisions have yet been made.

Bovine TB

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice her Department offers to farmers on protecting their herds from bovine tuberculosis; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Advice to farmers on protecting their herds from bovine tuberculosis is available on the DEFRA website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/abouttb/index.htm#protect.
	In addition, every cattle owner in Great Britain has received 'TB in cattle—reducing the risk pre- and post movement testing in GB'. This booklet encourages herd owners to promote high standards of disease prevention and control through farm health planning. It also strongly advises herd owners to discuss the benefits of herd health planning with their local veterinary inspector or veterinary practitioner.

Bovine TB

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the European Union directives on controlling bovine tuberculosis in cattle; how
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Ben Bradshaw: European controls for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle are set out in Council Directive 64/432/EEC.
	In England, European controls have been introduced under provisions laid down in the The Tuberculosis (England and Wales) Order 1984 together with the Animal Health Act 1981 (Section 32); and The Animals and Animal Product (Import and Export) (England) Regulations 2005. More detailed information is available on the DEFRA website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/abouttb/legis.htm
	The Government recognises the difficult and challenging problem of bTB. We therefore regularly review bTB controls to ensure they robustly protect public and animal health and consider whether they comply with requirements set out in European legislation.

Bovine TB

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the occasions when she has raised bovine tuberculosis in cattle with the European Union in each year since 1997; and what the outcome was in each case.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has held discussions at various levels with the European Union on this subject.

Bovine TB

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has undertaken on the incidence of bovine tuberculosis on individual farms; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has funded a variety of projects which investigate aspects of tuberculosis risk to farms generally. Specific projects have looked at risk factors affecting tuberculosis incidence in cattle herds, the effects of re-stocking following whole herd slaughter (post foot and mouth disease) and the risks posed by badgers visiting farm buildings and feed stores. In addition, the Department has carried out two questionnaire based epidemiological studies (TB99 and CCS2005), on behalf of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle Tuberculosis, to identify factors that might influence outbreaks.
	More information on Defra commissioned research is available on the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/research.
	A paper on the initial analysis of TB99 data was published in Biology Letters, 2005, Issue 1, pp 53–56.

Bovine TB

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment her Department has made of the link between badgers and bovine tuberculosis in cattle; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The evidence for a link between badgers and bovine tuberculosis in cattle was reviewed in 1997 by the Independent Scientific Review Group, led by Professor John Krebs. The Krebs group concluded that
	'the sum of evidence strongly supports the view that, in Britain, badgers were a significant source of infection in cattle'.
	More recently, experts 1 have demonstrated that badgers are a maintenance host for bovine tuberculosis. Although existing research does not quantify the specific contribution made by badgers to the appearance of bovine tuberculosis in cattle, patterns of infection in cattle and badgers are closely linked.
	1 Donnelly, C.A. , Woodroffe, R., Cox, D.R., Bourne, F.J., Cheeseman, C.L., Clifton-Hadley, R.S., Wei, G., Gettinby, G., Gilks, P., Jenkins, H., Johnston, W.T., Le Ferve, A.M., Mclnerney, J.P. & Morrison, W.I. (2005) Positive and negative effects of widespread badger culling on cattle tuberculosis. Nature, doi.10.1038/nature04454 (http://www.doi.org/).

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what work she has commissioned on the impact of hedgerows in reducing the level of bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department commissioned Oxford University, in 1999, to undertake a large project looking at the risk to cattle from M. bovis" infection in wildlife species other than badgers. One output from this was the recent publication which suggested that habitat management appeared to be important for a farm's TB risks. For example, the existence of ungrazed wildlife strips and the greater availability, width and continuity of hedgerows seemed to be associated with a reduced TB risk.

Footpaths

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to enable farmers to move footpaths which are adversely affecting farming.

Ben Bradshaw: Farmers are already able to apply for permanent footpath or bridleway diversion orders under section 119 of the Highways Act 1980, provided relevant criteria that balance the interests of the owner and the public are met.

National Farmers Union Conference

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what basis she stated at the recent National Farmers Union conference that the Prime Minister is the Minister for Biosecurity.

Ben Bradshaw: The Secretary of State's speech at the recent National Farmers Union conference did not say that the Prime Minister is the Minister for Biosecurity.

Noise Act

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have not adopted the terms of the Noise Act 1996 in relation to night-time noise.

Ben Bradshaw: The Noise Act 1996 was amended by the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to remove the requirement of adoption. All local authorities can use the powers in the Noise Act 1996 to deal with night-time noise.

Travelling Circuses

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2006, Official Report, column 1018W, on travelling circuses, whether any of the research projects evaluated by her Department included scientific evidence on forms of entertainment involving (a) poor welfare, (b) suffering and (c) cruelty to animals; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department is not aware of any research that indicates welfare problems relating to the actual performance aspect of using animals in entertainment. Most research focuses on whether there might be welfare issues relating to husbandry aspects such as housing.

Water

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase water provision in East Sussex in the next 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Department has no plans to increase water supplies in East Sussex. It is for the individual water companies concerned to consider the need for increasing provision of water in fulfilment of their duties to maintain adequate supplies of water. The companies' plans for meeting demand were set out in their 25 year water resources plans, prepared in 2004. The Environment Agency reported on those plans in 'Maintaining Water Supply', which is available from its website.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries (Women and Girls)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of progress towards improving the status of women and girls in developing countries; and what steps are being taken by his Department to support such progress.

Gareth Thomas: DFID recognises that no serious strategy for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can fail to address gender equality and women's empowerment as a central concern. We are committed to full implementation of the Beijing declaration and platform for action, and DFID participated in the review of progress on implementation of Beijing commitments which took place at the UN's 'Beijing plus 10' conference last spring. This meeting noted that progress had been made in improving the status of women and girls since the original conference in 1995 but that this progress had not been even across all areas and regions, and that considerable challenges remained. The conference called for strengthened efforts to implement the Beijing platform for action including critical areas such as health, education, tackling gender-based violence, economic empowerment and decision-making. The meeting also underlined the linkages between implementation of the Beijing commitments and achievement of the MDGs. These messages were reiterated by UN heads of state at the Millennium Review Summit in September.
	As well as support to international processes, DFID is working to ensure that gender issues are made a priority area across our programme and that developing country partners integrate gender into their own national plans. DFID also supports specific activities to promote the rights of women and girls, including in the areas of girls' education, maternal mortality and reproductive health.

Government Accountability

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, columns 786–7W, on government accountability, how much his Department (a) has spent on each of the last three years and (b) expects to spend in 2005–06 on support for African parliaments; how much in total his Department expects to spend on each of the projects and initiatives referred to in the answer; what the objectives are of each such project and initiative; what progress has been made on each; and which partner organisations are involved with each.

Hilary Benn: DFID has spent £1.21 million in 2003–04, £1.6 million in 2004–05 and expects to spend £1.41 million in 2005–06 in support of African parliaments. A breakdown of these figures by programmes referred to in the answer of 6 February is set out in the following table, along with a description of the objectives, progress and donor partners involved in each.
	In addition, in its policy discussions with developing country partners, DFID promotes greater transparency and accountability and encourages the involvement of local parliamentarians, civil society and the media in the development and review of poverty reduction plans and domestic budgeting processes.
	
		DFID spend towards projects supporting African parliaments (2003–04 to 2005–06)
		
			   Spend (£) 2003–04  Spend (£) 2004–05 Expected Spend (£) 2005–06  Objectives of project/ initiative   What progress has been made on each   Donor partners 
		
		
			 The Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB)   12,500 To strengthen parliaments and parliamentarians in West and Southern Africa This programme has just begun. It will enhance the capacity of parliamentarians to carry out their legislative and representative roles in West and Southern Africa, and to hold government's to account. World Bank International Monetary Fund 
			 Kenya   
			 Work with Parliamentary committees including library services   9,537 To enhance the effectiveness of parliament and parliamentary committees through the provision of information, research and legal services. Technical assistance has been provided and capacity building workshops held for the Parliament Service Commission to draw up an information strategy. A tender for the design and development of modern library and information services has been issued. European Commission 
			 Malawi   
			 Support to parliament and civil society relations 920,494 1.108m 505,000 Support for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to strengthen Parliamentary committees (2001–04), and to enhance civil society's involvement in parliamentary processes Parliamentary Committees are working more effectively Parliamentary candidates debated issues in their constituencies for the first time on a common platform Civil Society Organisations and Parliament have worked together to monitor the government's budget The Malawi Federation for Disabilities influenced the government to pass Malawi's first Disability policy following NDI sponsored advocacy training. USAID, Canadian development agency, United Nations Development Programme 
			 Tikambirane (2003–08):  A programme to strengthen Parliament's ability to act independently from the Executive in fulfilling its representative, legislative and oversight function Through the Tikambirane programme training has been provided to elections monitors, party candidates, and to help parties develop campaigning strategies The programme has involved young people in politics, monitored political bias in the media and provided logistical and IT support to the Electoral Commission and for the publication of the electoral roll.  
			 Nigeria   
			 Work with USAID and National Democratic Institute to support the National Assembly   500,000 To develop the National Assembly's ability to support pro-poor reform The first work-plan is currently under development and includes: support to Committees working on Millennium Development Goal areas, building the Assembly's capacity to support Nigeria's poverty reduction strategy, and linking reformers within the Assembly and civil society. USAID, World Bank, 
			 Tanzania   
			 Work with USAID and National Democratic Institute to strengthen parliamentary committees 250,000 350,000 (1)250,000 To help strengthen Parliament's capacity to carry out its oversight, lawmaking and representative roles. To support the administration in Parliament. Finance and Economic Affairs Committees, Parliamentary Accounts Committees and Local Authority Accounts Committee have increased activities and visibility. Relationships between parliament and civil society organisations have improved. This has helped to strengthen representation and information dissemination in Parliament. USAID 
			 Sierra Leone   
			 Work with USAID and National Democratic Institute to strengthen parliamentary committees  119,575  To help strengthen the Parliamentary Committees to play an effective oversight and leadership role in budget and legislative scrutiny and law-making. A workplan to address weaknesses in parliamentary policies and processes was developed in the second half of 2004. Consultation on the work plan continued in 2005, but the programme has stalled and is likely to be closed early, in 2006—rather than 2007. Given that there will be elections in 2007 the pre-election period will be used to design a new initiative in support of Parliament. USAID 
			 Ethiopia   
			 Developing capacity building programmes for parliaments   21,350 To build the capacity of federal and regional parliaments Using lessons-learned from previous parliamentary support programmes, DFID and other donors are designing a capacity building programme to be financed from a joint donor fund. In the interim, DFID has provided the House of Peoples' Representatives with technical expertise on parliamentary rules of procedure Multi-donor including: USAID, Netherlands, Canadian Development Agency, Denmark and Finland 
			 Uganda   
			 Developing capacity building programmes for parliaments 42,228 31,229 50,000 To support the restructuring of the Parliamentary Service so that it can serve MPS more effectively;  To support development of a Strategic Investment Plan, supporting activities with Parliament to deepen democracy and accountability.  To establish a joint donor basket fund to enhance Parliament's ownership and reduce transaction costs. Progress has been made in implementing recommended restructuring. Investment. plan finalised and now used as a basis for co-ordination of partner support around priorities identified by Parliament.  Basket fund established. Recent focus has been on supporting activities to prepare Parliamentary Service for Uganda's first multi-party Parliament in over two decades. USAID, European Commission, UNDP, Sweden and Norway. 
			 Zambia   
			 Developing capacity building programmes for Parliament under the Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Programme(PEMFA)   (2)55,000 To develop the capacity of Parliament to oversee public resources management to promote democratic governance, transparency and accountability The programme has strengthened the capacity of Public Accounts Committees and Estimates Committees through: training on public financial management and study tours to other Parliaments; attachment of senior staff to Parliaments in the Region and attendance of a Regional Parliamentary Workshop. Denmark, European Commission, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, World Bank 
		
	
	(1) Funds provided through USAID in tranches
	(2) Financing of the PEMFA programme is through a multi-donor pooled funding arrangement. DFID's contribution of £55,000 is 35 per cent. of the total donor funding

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review is to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent.

Hilary Benn: DFID has an efficiency target of £420 million as set out in the 2004 Spending Review. Of this target, £30 million is to be cashable. £20 million of these cashable savings will come from administration costs efficiencies, and will be transferred to the programme to provide direct development benefits. The remaining £10 million will be achieved through procurement efficiencies, and will therefore increase the availability of programme funds.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the target level of employment expressed as full-time equivalents is in his Department by April 2008, in order to meet his Department's Civil Service workforce reductions target set out in the 2004 Spending Review.

Hilary Benn: The target level of employment in DFID by April 2008, as full-time equivalents and as set out in the 2004 Spending Review, is 1,610 UK-based staff and 950 Staff Appointed In Country.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what total efficiency savings were achieved by his Department in 2004–05; and whether these count towards the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review.

Hilary Benn: DFID'S efficiency programme began in April 2005, so no efficiency savings were recorded in 2004–05. By the end of December 2005, DFID has achieved £41.1 million of efficiency gains.

TRANSPORT

Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the commitments set out in the letter of the Minister of State of 8 February 2006 (Ref SL/001336/06) in relation to the Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority and the complaints of the chairman of the Riparian and Mooring Rights Owners Group will be met; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: In my letter of 8 February I undertook to keep the hon. Member informed of progress. We are now treating this case as a priority and I will provide the hon. Member and his constituent with a substantive reply as soon as possible.

Great Western Franchise

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) rail routes will be cut and (b) stations will be closed as a consequence of the Government's detailed specification for the Great Western franchise.

Derek Twigg: None.

M62

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason roadworks are taking place on the M62 on the westbound carriageway east of junction 37; why such work was not carried out when this stretch of the motorway was recently resurfaced; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The roadworks on the westbound carriageway east of junction 37 of the M62 are to install an electronic signing system that will alert road users to high winds affecting vehicles on the Ouse Bridge and divert such vehicles off the motorway. The scheme includes an anemometer to monitor wind speeds and update the settings of the diversion signs.
	The current scheme was not commissioned until January 2006 and the resurfacing scheme was completed in August/September 2005. As the resurfacing scheme was to the west of junction 38 and the current scheme is to the east of junction 37, they could not be completed at the same time.

Railway Stations

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will provide assistance to West Lancashire council to pilot partnership approaches to improve security at and around stations;
	(2)  what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that (a) train operating companies and (b) British Transport Police improve security at stations in West Lancashire.

Derek Twigg: The Department continues to work with Network Rail, train operators, the British Transport Police, the Office of Rail Regulation and local authorities, including West Lancashire council, to reduce crime of all kinds as well as the fear of crime wherever it occurs on the transport network.

Railway Stations

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase the number of (a) waiting rooms, (b) toilet facilities and (c) commercial business activities at railway stations; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Railway stations are owned by Network Rail and managed by Network Rail or Train Operators. It is for these parties to plan the facilities at stations, in consultation with stakeholders. The Department continues to work with the ORR, Network Rail, Train Operators, Passenger Focus and other industry stakeholders to streamline industry processes and encourage third party investment.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Conservation Officers

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what resources have been made available to local authorities for conservation officers; and what percentage of local authorities now employ a full-time conservation officer.

David Lammy: Government support for historic building conservation is funded via the Revenue Support Grant Settlement. Revenue Support Grant is an unhypothecated block grant. This means that authorities are able to spend the grant on any service. It is not therefore possible to say how much grant an authority received for a particular service.
	Research commissioned by English Heritage and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in 2003 indicated that 85 per cent. of local authorities could draw on in-house conservation expertise, with an average of 1.7 full time equivalent specialists per authority. This research is being updated in 2006.

Digital Television

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the Public Service Broadcast requirement for additional capacity on digital terrestrial for high definition television; who will pay for the additional capacity; and what estimate she has made of the cost of providing the additional capacity.

James Purnell: I have made no such assessment. The award, management and pricing of spectrum are primarily matters for OFCOM. They have announced in their annual plan that they will consult later this year on the application of spectrum pricing to broadcasting spectrum, and are currently undertaking a digital dividend review" to understand how to ensure optimal use of the spectrum released by switchover.

Gambling

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what methods she will use to assess the proposed regional casino pilot scheme.

Richard Caborn: We will ask the Gambling Commission to advise on whether the introduction of the new types of casino permitted by the Gambling Act 2005, including the one regional casino, has led to an increase in problem gambling or is increasing that risk. We will also assess what the regeneration and other economic outcomes have been.

Gambling

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the timetable will be for the assessment of the casinos pilot scheme under the Gambling Act 2005.

Richard Caborn: Our intention is to ask the Gambling Commission to make an assessment of the impact of the introduction of the new casinos permitted by the Gambling Act 2005 no earlier than three years after the award of the first premises licence.

Gambling

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for new casinos have been submitted under the Gambling Act 1968 (a) since 1997 and (b) between (i) May 2005 and (ii) November 2005 and the latest date for which figures are available; and how many applications there have been for planning alterations to existing casinos in each period.

Richard Caborn: The Gambling Commission (previously the Gaming Board for Great Britain) considers applications for certificates of consent for casinos under the Gaming Act 1968. Once a certificate of consent is issued, operators can then apply to the licensing justices for a licence. The tables set out the number of applications for certificates of consent in respect of new casinos that were received during the periods requested.
	Operators also apply for a certificate of consent when they wish to relocate, extend or significantly alter an existing casino. These applications are also included in the tables.
	
		
			   New casinos Substitute/ extended/altered premises 
		
		
			 1997–98 2 9 
			 1998–99 8 5 
			 1999–00 8 8 
			 2000–01 7 6 
			 2001–02 5 3 
			 2002–03 10 5 
			 2003–04 12 3 
			 2004–05 25 4 
			 2005–06 (to end February 06) 47 8 
		
	
	
		
			  New casinos Substitute/ extended/altered premises 
		
		
			 April 2005 1 1 
			 May 2005 6 1 
			 June 2005 13 0 
			 July 2005 11 1 
			 August 2005 4 1 
			 September 2005 4 1 
			 October 2005 0 0 
			 November 2005 3 1 
			 December 2005 1 0 
			 January 2006 2 1 
			 February 2006 2 1

Government Art Collection

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pieces of artwork have gone missing from the Government art collection in each of the last seven years.

David Lammy: The following figures represent the numbers of works of art that have gone missing during the last seven financial years that have not yet been found.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2005–06 2 
			 2004–05 3 
			 2003–04 4 
			 2002–03 11 
			 2001–02 19 
			 2000–01 7 
			 1999–2000 2

Government Art Collection

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pieces of artwork are in the Government art collection; and how many are recorded as missing.

David Lammy: There are currently about 13,200 works included in the Government art collection.
	The first extant records of the collection date from 1898. Because of the uncertainty surrounding many of the old manual records no exact figure can be given for the number of missing works. Currently 636 are listed as missing. These are mostly prints of relatively low value. Analysis of the records of missing works indicate that most of the losses occurred before the early 1990s. A large proportion of these were reported as missing in the late 1980s as a result of improvements in recording. It is likely that most of these losses had happened many years earlier but had not been reported at the time. The completion of a decade-long period of computerisation of records and employment of a professional museum register in1991 has led to a radical improvement in inventory control and resultant reduction in missing works. Far fewer works go missing now—within the last year there were two.

Licensing

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much charities have paid for entertainment licenses for fund-raising events since the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

James Purnell: The information is not held centrally.

School Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding hasbeen provided for school sport in each year since 2000.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 17 March 2006
	Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sports Council Wales, Sports Council for Northern Ireland and the New Opportunities Fund have awarded lottery funding for school sport since 2000. The figures for 2005–06 use the latest figures available.
	
		£
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2000–01 17,659,107 
			 2001–02 28,547,582 
			 2002–03 106,541,897 
			 2003–04 220,016,586 
			 2004–05 353,719,455 
			 2005–06 90,045,587 
		
	
	The contribution from Sport England and Sports Council Wales is the average amount awarded from each year from 2000–01 to 2005–06.
	Sport Scotland and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland have awarded the following amounts to projects that significantly benefited school sport in each year:
	
		£
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2000–01 8,391,391 
			 2001–02 6,826,836 
			 2002–03 4,252,679 
			 2003–04 2,733,608 
			 2004–05 4,162,831 
			 2005–06 823,500

Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 26 February 2006, Official Report, columns 2296–97W, on sports programmes, what progress has been made on finalising the details of the (a) governance arrangements, (b) staffing, (c) location and (d) role of the regional sports boards as they affect the National Sports Foundation due to be launched in April.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 17 March 2006
	I am pleased to say that the National Sports Foundation will become operational in April 2006, as announced in the Chancellor's latest pre-Budget report.
	The foundation will have its own separate and unique identity, reflecting the innovative approach that it will take to securing extra investment in grass roots sport. In order that it should be operated as efficiently as possible, and to minimise administrative costs, I have decided that the foundation will use as much of Sport England's existing infrastructure as possible, including staffing, premises and their regional network. The Regional Sports Boards will play a key role in this delivery framework both in helping to identify new sources of funding and in ensuring that funding decisions match our strategic priorities for increasing participation in sport and physical activity.
	My officials are working closely with Sport England to ensure that a robust governance structure will have been agreed upon prior to next month's launch. Key to these considerations is ensuring that we maximise the levels of new investment in grass roots and community sport.

Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how local authorities are assessed on their provision of sports facilities.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 17 March 2006
	Provision for sport and leisure is currently a discretionary service for local authorities.
	Decisions on such provision are therefore a matter for local government.
	However, access to good quality sports facilities is essential if we are to encourage people to lead healthier, more active lives and local authority performance is measured in a number of ways, including the towards an excellent service self assessment tool and the QUEST accreditation scheme, both developed by Sport England. Local authorities are also obliged to conduct a triennial user satisfaction survey, which includes a question about user satisfaction with sports facilities.
	Moreover, local authority performance in sports provision will be monitored through the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) 2006. The cultural services assessment in CPA will identify excellence in the delivery of sports provision, as well as where improvement is needed.

Television Licence

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people in Tamworth have been prosecuted for not having a television licence in each of the last five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.
	It is not possible to identify those prosecutions in Tamworth as the data are not collected at this level of detail.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces (MRSA)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces have contracted MRSA in each of the last three years; where the infection is believed to have been contracted in each case; and what the cause is believed to have been in each case.

Don Touhig: The Ministry of Defence does not collate information on how many Service personnel have contracted MRSA. Furthermore, MRSA is not a statutorily notifiable disease, and therefore not all cases of MRSA among Service personnel will necessarily be known about by the Defence Medical Services.
	I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 28 June 2005, Official Report, column 1398W to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone).

Armed Forces Pay Review Body

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if 
	(1)  he will place in the Library a transcript of his oral evidence to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body in the course of the preparation of its 35th report;
	(2)  he will place in the Library the transcripts of oral evidence given to the Armed Forces Pay Review Body by the (a) Chief of Defence Staff, (b) Permanent Under-Secretary, (c) principal personnel officers, (d) Director of Reserve Forces and Cadets and (e) Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets).

John Reid: The Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) is an independent body. It calls for evidence from Defence Ministers and officials which is given in private. No formal transcript is made, but the AFPRB reflects the evidence provided as necessary in its report—a copy of which is placed in the Library of the House.

Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to ratify the protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) before the CCW review conference in November 2006.

John Reid: holding answer 17 March 2006
	The United Kingdom has ratified the first four Protocols of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. We are committed to ratification of Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War and aim to do so at the earliest opportunity.

Defence Export Services Organisation

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings have been held in 2006 between the Defence Export Services Organisation and (a) members of the armed forces and (b) defence ministry officials from (i) Iraq, (ii) Libya and (iii) Pakistan; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Officials from the Defence Export Services Organisation routinely hold meetings with representatives of foreign governments. In respect of Libya, there have been three such meetings this year. In the case of Pakistan there have been six, three of which were with the Pakistani Defence Adviser in London. The meetings have taken place within the context of the Government's policy of engagement with those countries concerned, with the aim of promoting cooperation and identifying opportunities for UK industry to assist in meeting legitimate defence and security requirements. There have been no meetings with Iraqi officials so far this year.

Defence Export Services Organisation

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings have taken place between the Defence Export Services Organisations and the organisers of Pakistan's International Defence Exhibition and Seminar 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Defence Export Services Organisation officials have met with organisers of the International Defence Exhibition and Seminar on two occasions. Such meetings are in accordance with the Government's policy of defence equipment cooperation with the Pakistani Government and industry.

Departmental Telephone Numbers

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his department and (ii) agencies which report to him.

Don Touhig: The use of 0800, 0845 or 0870 telephone numbers in the Ministry of Defence and its agencies is determined at local level in accordance with individual business requirements, and ordered directly from the supplier. Records of these numbers are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Deployment

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers were deployed in Stockwell on 22 July 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 10 March 2006
	Events in Stockwell on 22 July 2005 are currently under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. I am therefore unable to make any comment.

Service Accommodation (Falkland Islands)

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Service Family Accommodation properties in the Falkland Islands are of Grade (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four standard.

Don Touhig: There are 59 Service Family Accommodation properties on the Falkland Islands. The standard of condition of the properties is grade one for 23 of them, and grade two for the remaining 36; there are no grade three or four properties.

Health Specialisation

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) establishment and (b) staff numbers in post are of each specialisation of allied health professionals in each of the services.

Don Touhig: The table shows the established and actual numbers of Allied Health Professionals in post, classified by specialisation. In light of current operational planning assumptions, the tri-Service manning requirement for the Defence Medical Services (DMS) is currently under review. As a result, the total DMS requirement figures are expected to decrease in the near future.
	
		
			 Post Established Posts Number in Post 
		
		
			 Biomedical Scientist 73 60 
			 Clinical Physiologist 11 7 
			 Combat Medical Technician (Army) 2,030 1,620 
			 Dental Hygienists 74 69 
			 Dental Surgery Support 410 390 
			 Dental Technicians 40 42 
			 Environmental Health Officer 29 29 
			 Environmental Health Technicians 110 100 
			 Health Inspector (3)— 2 
			 Medical Admin (RAF) 340 330 
			 Medical Assistant (Royal Marine and Commando) 120 66 
			 Medical Assistant (Dental) (3)— (3)— 
			 Medical Assistant (General Duties) 380 470 
			 Medical Assistant (RAF) 360 370 
			 Medical Assistant (Submarine) 77 86 
			 Operating Department Practitioners 190 120 
			 Pharmacist 15 10 
			 Pharmacy Technician 77 43 
			 Physiotherapist 98 83 
			 Radiographer 41 33 
			 Single Service Command and Staff 4 (3)— 
			 Tri-Service Command and Staff 1 (3)— 
			 Tri-Service Totals 4,490 3,930 
		
	
	(3) denotes zero.
	Notes:
	1. Figures over 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10 (although numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias).
	2. Figures less than 100 have been left unrounded so as not to obscure the data.
	3. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not equal the sum of the parts.
	Source:
	Defence Medical Services Department.

Insurgents/Terrorists

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's definition is of (a) insurgents and (b) terrorists; and whether these definitions could simultaneously apply to the same individuals.

John Reid: holding answer 16 March 2006
	In the context of UK military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the term insurgents" generally refers to those violently opposing government authority and the rule of law in the particular country or countries where they live. Terrorists" are those connected to a specific, named terrorist organisation which is recognised as such by the UK or by the international community as a whole and who may or may not be engaged in violence against the Government of the country where they live.
	It is possible that an individual may choose both to be part of a terrorist group, and to participate in an insurgency. It is recognised that these terms are often used interchangeably in common usage.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a D Notice was issued to restrict reporting of complaints from family of service personnel killed in Iraq that army vehicles had not been fixed with anti-roadside bomb detection and protective devices; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: D Notices were replaced by the Defence Advisory (DA) Notice system in 1993. The DA Notice system is overseen by the Defence Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee (DPBAC), a joint government/media body. The five standing DA Notices approved by the Committee (see www.dnotice.org.uk) provide the media with guidance on the areas of national security that need to be protected; they also provide the basis for prior negotiation in cases of dispute. The DA Notice code is purely voluntary and is not supported by any form of legal sanction. The five standing DA Notices are used by the DPBAC Secretary—who administers the system on a day-to-day basis—to provide further guidance to the media or officials about reporting on specific events or circumstances.
	On 3 September 2004 the then DPBAC Secretary wrote a general letter to editors on the subject of protective countermeasures used by British forces in Iraq. In it he acknowledged that it was widely known that the British forces in Iraq were employing various types of countermeasures to protect themselves against the roadside ambush techniques being used by Iraqi insurgents. He went on to advise that the publication or broadcasting of the specific details of these countermeasures would pose a real and serious danger to life".
	This was followed by two other general letters issued by the DPBAC Secretary to editors (respectively 22 August and 6 October 2005) repeating and elaborating the previous advice. All of these letters were written in response to developing concerns by British commanders that the publication or broadcasting of such details risked nullifying British countermeasures and thus increasing the risks faced by members of the British forces, not only in Iraq but also in other theatres.
	No DA Notice advice has ever been offered which attempts to restrict the reporting of complaints from families of Service personnel killed in Iraq that British Army vehicles had not been equipped with anti-roadside bomb detection and protective devices.

Prisoners of War

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) prisoners of war or surviving spouses and (b) civilian internees or surviving spouses are (i) eligible for payment, (ii) have been paid and (iii) are awaiting payment in relation to the ex-gratia scheme for former Far East prisoners of war and civilian internees.

Don Touhig: holding answer 16 March 2006
	We do not have information on numbers of surviving former prisoners of war, former civilian internees or spouses, or on their personal circumstances that would allow us to assess the numbers eligible for payment under the scheme. The other information on numbers paid or awaiting decisions is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Paid 
		
		
			 Prisoners of War (POW) 8,460 
			 POW surviving spouses 12,495 
			 Civilian Internees (CI) 2,428 
			 CI surviving spouses 599 
			 Cases where category is unclear 93 
			 Total paid 24,075 
			 Cases awaiting decision 162 
		
	
	The position of the 93 cases where the category is unclear could only be clarified by identifying and reviewing each of the claim files affected. This could only be done at disproportionate cost. Decisions under the civilian element of the scheme were suspended last year following a High Court judgement that the criteria for deciding whether a claimant met the nationality criteria had resulted in unlawful indirect discrimination. This judgement is the subject of an appeal by both sides that is due to be heard in the Court of Appeal early next month.

Sustainable Building

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's building programme budget was allocated to (a) energy self-generation and (b) water recycling measures in the 2004–05 financial year.

Don Touhig: The Ministry of Defence does not allocate separately identifiable funds for energy self-generation or water recycling measures within the building programme budgets. Thus the information required is not held centrally and to give a full answer would incur disproportionate costs.
	However, this Department's policy is to strive to maximise its energy supply from renewable sources by exploiting all value for money, through-life renewable energy supply opportunities. A range of appraisal tools and evaluation methodologies have been mandated within the Department to prompt consideration of a wide range of energy and water management measures including self generation and water recycling
	The Department is investigating opportunities to increase the number of self-generating renewable technology schemes installed on the defence estate.

Territorial Army

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army (TA) personnel (a) are serving in Iraq and (b) have served in Iraq since the start of the conflict, broken down by TA (i) section and (ii) rank.

Don Touhig: There are currently some 660 members of the TA serving in Iraq. Some 9,394 TA personnel have served in Iraq since the start of Operation TELIC. A more detailed breakdown will be placed in the Library of the House.

PRIME MINISTER

No. 10 Downing Street

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list hon. Members who have security clearance for access to No. 10 Downing Street.

Tony Blair: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security issues.

Dorneywood

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons he has re-allocated Dorneywood to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) on 13 July 2005, Official Report, column 1074W.

Lord Levy

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Prime Minister what is the role of Lord Levy in Her Majesty's Government.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 17 March 2006 [ 59424 ].

Ministerial Code

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will amend the Ministerial Code to include guidance on the content of speeches given by spouses of Ministers where the speech may be construed as being relevant to Government policy.

Tony Blair: The Ministerial Code is revised and reissued after a General Election.

Transparency and Accountability

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to improve transparency and accountability in Government.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave at my monthly press conference on 16 March 2006, a transcript of which is available on the No. 10 website.

TREASURY

Labour-intensive Services

Robert Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will apply for permission to the EU to reduce the rate of VAT levied on labour-intensive services in respect of bicycle repairs;
	(2)  pursuant to the ECOFIN agreement in February, what plans he has to apply for permission to reduce the rate of VAT levied on labour-intensive services in respect of district heating.

Dawn Primarolo: The VAT reduced rate for the repair of bicycles is one of a number introduced into EU legislation on an experimental basis whose objective is to create employment opportunities by stimulating demand through lower prices. The Government have always chosen not to participate, as we believe that our employment objectives are better targeted through measures such as the welfare to work strategy and New Deal, which have contributed to the 2.3 million rise in employment since 1997.
	District heating does not form part of the labour intensive services experiment, but the agreement reached at the January ECOFIN meeting does allow member states to apply for this reduced rate. We continue to review whether this reduced rate would offer the best-targeted and most efficient support for our social objectives.

Biofuels

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will revise the statutory definition of biofuels to include biofuels which have not been made using the transesterification process.

John Healey: Fuel is eligible for the rate of duty for biodiesel (currently 27.10 pence per litre) if it meets the legal definition of biodiesel for tax purposes set out in section 2AA of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979. Conformity with this definition rather than the method of production determines whether a fuel is deemed as a biodiesel for tax purposes.

Birth Statistics (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births there were to women resident in Lancashire health authority (a) in maternity hospitals, (b) in midwife-led units, (c) at home and (d) at other locations in each year since 2000.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 March 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for the number of births to women resident in Lancashire Health Authority (a) in maternity hospitals, (b) in midwife-led units, (c) at home and (d) at other locations in each year since 2000. (59026)
	For health administration purposes Lancashire falls within the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority area and the table below relates to live-births to women usually resident there at the time of the birth. Since information is not available centrally on which hospitals are mid-wife led units, figures are presented for categories (a) and (b) combined.
	Hospitals where more than 30 live births took place in any year over the period 2000 to 2004 have been shown individually; the remaining ones have been aggregated in the 'Other hospitals' sub-total. Births in the 'Elsewhere' category are mainly those occurring on the way to hospital or at a private residence which is not that of the mother.
	
		Live births by place of occurrence for women resident in Cumbria and Lancashire SHA area 2000–04
		
			  Year of occurrence 
			 Place of occurrence 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 (a) and (b)  
			 Maternity hospital/unit  
			 Sharoe Green Hospital 3,578 3,635 3,435 3,680 2,559 
			 Sharoe Green Unit Royal Preston Hospital 0 0 0 0 1,329 
			 Queens Park Hospital 3,539 3,477 3,490 3,666 3,674 
			 Victoria Hospital, Blackpool 2,737 2,604 2,578 2,745 2,930 
			 General Hospital, Burnley 2,083 2,146 2,112 2,214 2,343 
			 Royal Infirmary, Lancaster 1,590 1,651 1,653 1,770 1,879 
			 West Cumberland Hospital 1,220 1,172 1,131 1,212 1,222 
			 Cumberland Infirmary 1,078 1,432 1,458 1,565 1,624 
			 Furness General Hospital 1,014 1,033 918 1,065 1,083 
			 Ormskirk District General Hospital 795 845 848 976 1,055 
			 Helme Chase Maternity Unit 488 403 258 286 286 
			 City Maternity Hospital, Carlisle 431 0 0 0 0 
			 Fairfield General Hospital 333 319 276 289 329 
			 Airedale General Hospital 291 229 229 217 236 
			 Penrith Hospital 191 150 151 137 51 
			 Chorley and District Hospital, Chorley 191 250 207 227 273 
			 Billinge Hospital 109 105 83 96 33 
			 Rochdale Infirmary 0 100 115 88 113 
			 Christiana Hartley Maternity Hospital, Southport 109 117 107 45 12 
			 Birch Hill Hospital 97 2 0 0 0 
			 Bolton General Hospital 60 64 64 63 77 
			 St. Marys Hospital, Whitworth Park 54 62 66 36 60 
			 Liverpool Womens Hospital 50 46 48 44 68 
			 Royal Victoria Infirmary 27 16 23 27 35 
			 Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan 0 0 0 0 37 
			 Other hospitals(4) 138 132 132 118 110 
			   
			 (c)  
			 At home 289 270 268 358 396 
			   
			 (d)  
			 Elsewhere 25 19 26 23 17 
			 Total 20,517 20,279 19,676 20,947 21,831 
		
	
	(4) There were 116 hospitals/units in the 'Other' category where there was at least one birth in the period 2000 to 2004.

Breast Cancer

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of breast cancer have been diagnosed in the last five years, broken down by age band.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter form Karen Dunnell, dated 20 March 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in the last five years, broken down by age band. (59218)
	The latest available figures are for the year 2003. The number of people diagnosed with breast cancer, by age band, in each year is available in Table 1 of the Annual Reference Volume, Cancer statistics: Registrations, Series MB1. These are available on the National Statistics website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=88434&Pos=4&ColRank=l4&Ran k=224.

Child Tax Credits

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to permit families entitled to Child Tax Credits to have them paid directly into Credit Union accounts.

Dawn Primarolo: Payment of tax credits can be paid into such accounts.

Council Tax Rebate (Pensioners)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the council tax rebate for people of pensionable age.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 14 March 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 5.66 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 2005.

Data-mining Techniques

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use (a) the Valuation Office Agency and (b) HM Revenue and Customs makes of data-mining techniques; and for what purposes.

Dawn Primarolo: The information as follows:
	(a) The Valuation Office Agency makes limited use of data-mining techniques as part of routine statistical analysis. These are restricted to internal financial management only.
	(b) HMRC uses data-mining techniques as part of routine statistical analysis of large data sets. By increasing the effectiveness of HMRC's compliance and enforcement activities, this reduces the burden on compliant taxpayers and helps to ensure that people pay the right amount of tax or receive the right amount of benefits.

Departmental Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs were created within Government in each year between 1997 and 2005.

John Healey: Data on public employment sector employment levels since 1997 can be found in the National Statistics quarterly publication Public Sector Employ- ment First Release", published on the ONS website. The latest release can be found at the following web address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pse0106.pdf

Financial Services Authority

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what public satisfaction surveys he has carried out on the performance of the Financial Services Authority.

Ivan Lewis: The two-year review of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 involved discussion with consumer and industry bodies about the performance of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which indicated no enthusiasm for major reform of the FSA.
	The public may voice their satisfaction about the FSA, and about any aspect of financial services regulation on a continual basis through the web-based Better Regulation portal http://www.betterregulation.gov.uk/ and through the Treasury portal simplification@hm-treasury.x.gsi.gov.uk

Financial Services Authority

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reform the regulatory regime for financial services; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The effectiveness of the regulatory regime for financial services was considered by the Treasury's two-year review of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), the outcome of which was announced on 2 December 2004 concluded that the framework established by FSMA is a resounding success.

Insurance Premium Tax

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the recharging of insurance premium tax; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Representations are made to Treasury Ministers and officials on a wide range issues by a variety of organisations in the public and private sectors and by individuals as part of the process of policy development and analysis. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all representations and submissions made to the Treasury.

Minimum Wage

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of those (a) earning the minimum wage and (b) earning less than £6.50 per hour who are employed in (i) the public sector, (ii) the care sector, (iii) the catering sector, (iv) the hotel sector, (v) cleaning jobs, (vi) farming and (vii) manufacturing industry; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 March 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the proportion of those (a) earning the minimum wage and (b) earning less than £6.50 per hour who are employed in (i) the public sector, (ii) the care sector, (iii) the catering sector, (iv) the hotel sector, (v) cleaning jobs, (vi) farming and (vii) manufacturing sector; and if he will make a statement. (59491)
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) does not provide estimates on numbers or proportions of employees with specific levels of earnings. Therefore estimates have not been provided for numbers earning the minimum wage. However, ASHE can estimate proportions of those earning under certain levels. Please find attached tables which give the relevant information for those employees earning less than £6.50 per hour.
	Currently average earnings are estimated from the ASHE, and are provided for full time employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	
		2005 hourly earnings excluding overtime (£) pay for allworkers jobs(5)
		
			  Percentage of employees earning <£6.50 
		
		
			 Public Sector 12.8 
			 Care Sector(6) 34.6 
			 Catering Sector(7) 70.2 
			 Hotels Sector(8) 62.7 
			 Cleaning Sector(9) 75.8 
			 Farming(10) 48.5 
			 Manufacturing(11) 15.0 
		
	
	(5) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence.
	(6) The care sector has been defined as Group 85.3-social work activities, of the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2003 (SIC 2003).
	(7) The catering sector has been defined as Group 55.3 to 55.5 of SIC 2003.
	(8) The hotel sector has been defined as Group 55.1 of SIC 2203.
	(9) The cleaning sector has been defined as Group 95.3-elementary cleaning occupations, of the UK Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC 2000).
	(10) The farming sector has been defined as Groups 01.1 to 01.4 of SIC 2003.
	(11) The manufacturing sector has been defined as Divisions 15 to 37, or Section D, of SIC 2003.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Pension Liabilities

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the net present value of accrued pension liabilities in respect of (a) present and (b) former employees of his Department.

John Healey: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme and individual departments' pension liabilities are not available. The Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts for 2004–05 showed that the total pension liability at 31 March 2005 was £84.1 billion. The value of pension liabilities was assessed as follows:
	Liabilities for current members still contributing to the scheme— £37 billion
	deferred pensions and contingent pensions for dependants in respect of members no longer contributing—£12.7 billion
	current pensions for members and contingent pensions for dependants—£34.4 billion

Public Sector Jobs

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many public sector jobs have been created since May 1997; and at what estimated cost.

Des Browne: Data on public sector employment levels since 1997 can be found in the National Statistics quarterly publication Public Sector Employment First Release", published on the ONS website. The latest release can be foundat the following web address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pse0106.pdf.
	There are no centrally collated figures measuring the cost of new jobs created in the public sector. Departments total expenditure on pay is recorded in table 3.7 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2005, which can be found at the following web address: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spe nding_statistics/pes_publications/pespub_pesaOS.cfm. There are no figures, centrally collated or collected by individual Departments, that break down expenditure between new and existing public sector employees.

Suicide

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides there were in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the past five years, broken down by (i) sex and (ii) age.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 March 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many suicides there were in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years, broken down by sex and age. (59471)
	The most recent year for which figures are now available is 2004. The table below shows the number of deaths with a verdict of suicide or undetermined intent by sex, age group and country of residence in the United Kingdom for the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		Number of deaths from suicide(12) and injury of undetermined intent(13), by sex, age group, and country of residence of the United Kingdom, 2000 to 2004(14)
		
			  Males Females 
			  (a) England (b) Wales (c) Scotland (d) Northern Ireland (a) England (b) Wales (c) Scotland (d) Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 Under 15 
			 2000 15 1 3 — 4 — 5 — 
			 2001 12 1 2 — 11 1 1 1 
			 2002 10 1 3 1 11 1 2 1 
			 2003 18 — 1 1 11 2 — — 
			 2004 12 — 2 — 8 1 — — 
			 15–34 
			 2000 1,226 99 276 78 320 22 64 15 
			 2001 1,157 88 231 66 269 17 72 7 
			 2002 1,086 82 273 71 294 18 62 17 
			 2003 1,030 110 196 43 260 27 66 13 
			 2004 981 81 185 37 280 14 48 15 
			 35–54 
			 2000 1,420 88 260 42 457 27 87 23 
			 2001 1,388 107 275 48 440 17 102 11 
			 2002 1,403 94 254 55 422 30 87 16 
			 2003 1,406 87 244 48 458 28 93 16 
			 2004 1,437 101 284 50 459 34 115 16 
			 55–74 
			 2000 602 49 104 18 297 13 32 4 
			 2001 631 44 114 14 273 19 48 6 
			 2002 604 43 126 11 266 11 56 4 
			 2003 621 49 109 16 253 17 45 3 
			 2004 623 57 100 14 308 15 45 9 
			 75 plus 
			 2000 248 15 31 2 154 6 16 3 
			 2001 250 15 24 4 148 6 18 1 
			 2002 201 10 20 4 156 16 16 3 
			 2003 241 8 27 4 161 6 12 — 
			 2004 256 19 31 4 170 9 17 1 
			 All ages 
			 2000 3,511 252 674 140 1,232 68 204 45 
			 2001 3,438 255 646 132 1,141 60 241 26 
			 2002 3,304 230 676 142 1,149 76 223 41 
			 2003 3,316 254 577 112 1,143 80 216 32 
			 2004 3,309 258 602 105 1,225 73 225 41 
		
	
	(12) The cause of death for suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 for 2000 for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-IO) codes X60-X84 for Scotland from 2000 to 2004, and for England and Wales and Northern Ireland for the years 2001 to 2004.
	(13) The cause of death for undetermined intent was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E980-E989 for 2000 for Northern Ireland, E980-E989 excluding E988.8 for 2000 for England and Wales, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-IO) codes X60-X84 for Scotland from 2000 to 2004, for Northern Ireland for the years 2001 to 2004, and codes X60-X84 excluding pending verdicts for England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2004.
	(14) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Suicide

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) suicides and (b) male suicides there were in the UK in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 10 March 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many (a) suicides and (b) male suicides there were in the UK in each of the last five years. (59518)
	The most recent year for which figures are available is 2004. The table below shows the number of deaths with a verdict of suicide or undetermined intent by sex in the United Kingdom for the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		Death from suicide(15) and injury of undetermined intent(16), United Kingdom, 2000 to 2004(17)
		
			 Number 
			  (a) Persons (b) Males Females 
		
		
			 2000 6,149 4,597 1,552 
			 2001 5,965 4,489 1,476 
			 2002 5,857 4,363 1,494 
			 2003 5,762 4,285 1,477 
			 2004 5,930 4,293 1,637 
		
	
	(15) The cause of death for suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959for 2000 for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 for Scotland from 2000 to 2004, and for England and Wales and Northern Ireland for the years 2001 to 2004.
	(16) The cause of death for undetermined intent was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E980-E989 for 2000 for Northern Ireland, E980-E989 excluding E988.8 for 2000 for England and Wales, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 for Scotland from 2000 to 2004, for Northern Ireland for the years 2001 to 2004, and codes X60-X84 excluding pending verdicts for England and Wales for the years 2001 to 2004.
	(17) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what technical problems were experienced with the tax credit computer system in (a) November and December 2005 and (b) January 2006; how many claims were delayed as a result; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 6 February 2006
	There were no problems with the availability of the tax credits IT system, in terms of unplanned downtime, during the period specified. However, a technical problem with the IT system meant that some 44,000 tax credit payments, which should have been made between 26 and 28 December, were paid late. All had been paid by 4 January.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there is a limit on the number of tax credit claims from 2003–04 that can be reassessed by staff in light of new information.

Dawn Primarolo: Technically tax credit claims are not assessed and therefore cannot be reassessed". The word 'assessment' does not appear in the tax credits legislation.

Tax Credits

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to reduce tax credit fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 14 February 2006, Official Report, column 1849W.

Tax Credits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit has been in each year since their introduction; and what percentage of these costs was accounted for by administration.

Dawn Primarolo: Expenditure on Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit in 2003–04 and 2004–05 can be found in Note 3 of the Trust Statement for the Department of Inland Revenue 2003–04 and 2004–05 Accounts respectively.
	For information in administration costs I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman) on 16 March 2006 (59081).

Tax Fraud

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from insurance companies under investigation for alleged tax fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Representations are made to Treasury Ministers and officials on a wide range issues by a variety of organisations in the public and private sectors and by individuals as part of the process of policy development and analysis. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all representations and submissions made to the Treasury.

Tax-free Income

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the estimated total cost to public funds would be if the tax-free income threshold were raised to £12,000;
	(2)  what the estimated total cost to the Treasury would be if a single tax rate of (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30 and (d) 40 per cent. were levied on all earned and unearned income over a £12,000 threshold.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is provided in the table.
	
		Year 2005–06
		
			 Universal personal allowances(18)(£) Starting rate (percentage) Basic rate (percentage) Higher rate (percentage) Yield  (£ billion) 
		
		
			 12,000 10 20/22(19) 32.5/40(20) -37.6 
			 12,000(21) 10 10 10 -90.0 
			 12,000(21) 20 20 20 -54.3 
			 12,000(21) 30 30 30 -19.6 
			 12,000(21) 40 40 40 +15.1 
		
	
	(18) The estimates assume all personal allowances, including age-related personal allowances, are increased to £12,000.
	(19) Savings and earnings are currently taxed at 20 per cent. and 22 per cent. respectively.
	(20) The higher rate on dividend income is currently taxed at 32.5 per cent., while the higher rate on savings and earnings is 40 per cent..
	(21) The option implies a single rate above a universal personal allowances of £12,000.
	The income tax information is based upon the 2003–04 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) and projected forward to 2005–06 in line with December 2005 pre-Budget HM Treasury assumptions. The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response to the tax changes, which could be significant given the scale of the changes.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency holds aerial photography produced (a) externally and (b) in-house.

Dawn Primarolo: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) does not produce aerial photography in-house. A small number of externally produced sample aerial photographs, made available by potential suppliers when the use of aerial photography was considered and rejected in 2003.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency has held a contract with Getmapping in the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: No.

World Heritage Sites

David Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Minister in his Department has responsibility for issues relating to world heritage sites.

John Healey: Lead responsibility for policy on World Heritage Sites rests with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport works closely with relevant Government Departments on all issues affecting World Heritage Sites. Within the Treasury I have responsibility for issues concerning World Heritage sites which fall within this Department's policy remit.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Competitions

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action his Department is taking to tackle the misuse of competitions where letters are sent requesting payment in advance of receiving a cash prize.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Under section 14 of the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 (which is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport) it is an offence to promote an unlawful lottery or an unlawful prize competition. The Office of Fair Trading can enforce section 14 and also regularly runs campaigns to raise awareness of this and other scams. Obtaining money by deception would also be a matter for the police.

Directorial Accountability

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support his Department makes available for the training of non-executive directors on (a) the development of proper systems of company accountability to shareholders including rewards and terms and conditions for executives and (b) the protection of whistle-blowers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The DTIs 'Building Better Boards' publication was published in December 2004. It recommends that companies should think more systematically about the effectiveness of their boards, their recruitment processes and the way in which they develop personnel. It also provides guidance to aspiring non-executives.
	Appendix 1 contains signposts to training resources where training on a wide range of issues may be found. Building Better Boards can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/cld/DTI_BETTERBOARDS.pdf.

Gas/Electricity Prices

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to investigate the reasons for the increases in (a) gas and (b) electricity prices in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: In its role as regulator for the gas and electricity markets, Ofgem continually undertakes market monitoring in relation to both markets to ensure that they are operating effectively. As part of this monitoring role, Ofgem has been assessing the recent trends in GB gas and electricity prices. In addition, Ofgem has held several seminars in relation to the operation of the gas and electricity markets over winter 2005–06 which examined the supply/demand fundamentals associated with the recent prices. Details of the information presented at these seminars can be found on Ofgem's website at: http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem/work/indexjsp?section=areasofwork/wholesalemarketmonitoring/wholesalemarketmonitoring01.
	The Government understands the tough conditions that high-energy users are operating in and we are leaving no stone unturned, working closely with industry to mitigate the situation and reduce the impact. Our discussions with the Energy Intensive Users' Group have helped us focus our efforts on maximising gas supplies, improving the operation of the market, encouraging demand-side response and pursuing fair access to markets across Europe.
	The Government takes the issue of the potential impact of rising prices on the number of households in fuel poverty very seriously. Government, with other interested parties, has taken a range of measures to mitigate the impact of price rises, including further assistance to elderly households through the significant additional funding of £300 million to tackle fuel poverty across the UK announced in the pre-Budget report in December 2005.

Global Nuclear Energy Partnership

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the United Kingdom joined the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership; what resources have been committed to date in support of the partnership; what future resources are expected be committed to the partnership; how many meetings of the partnership have been held to date; and if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes of partnership meetings and documents circulated amongst partnership members to date.

Malcolm Wicks: The United Kingdom is discussing, with the United States, the development of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. There have been bi-lateral meetings between the United Kingdom and the United States to discuss the American proposals. However, this proposed programme is at very early stage and there is, currently, no formal membership mechanism. No resources have been committed by the UK to this proposed initiative. Full details of the partnership, including UK participation, remain to be discussed.

Labelling (Fabrics)

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he has taken to ensure the labelling of fabrics that have been treated with tri-n-butyl tin.

Gerry Sutcliffe: None. The use of tributyl tin (which might also be described as tri-n-butyl tin) is regulated within the European Union by the Biocidal Products Directive (implemented in the UK by the Biocidal Products Regulations 2001). Certain uses of tributyl tin are already banned throughout the EU, and certain tributyl tin derivates are required to be removed from the market by 1 September 2006. The use of all other tributyl tin derivates currently approved is under review.
	All consumer products are subject to the requirements of the General Product Safety Directive (implemented in the UK by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005), where they are not otherwise, and to the same extent, subject to product-specific regulation. The General Product Safety Regulations require that manufacturers and importers should satisfy themselves, before placing any product on the market, that it is safe in normal and reasonably foreseeable use; and that they should conduct such safety assessments as may be necessary to demonstrate the safety of the product.

North West Regional Development Agency

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the consultants employed by the North West regional development agency in each of the last five years; and how much was paid to each.

Alun Michael: The information is contained in the following table.
	
		£000
		
			 Supplier 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 
		
		
			 KPMG 93,147 48,428 148,408 406,625 596,268 1,292,876 
			 Sema UK Ltd. 87,256 103,000 136,188 7,143 — 333,586 
			 Dyer Associates 120,150 72,391 30,085 44,138 240 267,004 
			 Regeneris Consulting Ltd. — 15,681 — 45,890 124,998 186,569 
			 Dtz Pieda Consulting 110,248 6,613 — 10,000 43,879 170,740 
			 Sqw Ltd. 31,370 21,060 1,216 94,229 4,300 152,175 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers 26,511 17,732 — 73,698 27,924 145,864 
			 Athito Consulting Ltd. — — — — 96,600 96,600 
			 Mr. John A Jones 15,941 28,352 20,401 11,652 17,159 93,505 
			 Turner & Townsend 22,975 23,900 6,610 35,971 — 89,456 
			 Amtek UK Ltd. — — 83,361 — — 83,361 
			 York Aviation — — — 70,591 12,500 83,091 
			 The Hay Group Management Ltd. 37,077 18,475 21,055 5,600 — 82,207 
			 LKW Consulting Ltd. — — — 14,700 64,200 78,900 
			 Deluca — — — 78,103 — 78,103 
			 Oxford Intelligence — — — 69,000 — 69,000 
			 J4B plc — — — — 66,173 66,173 
			 Norman Broadbent — — — 63,577 — 63,577 
			 Firecracker Projects Ltd. — — — 17,772 35,968 53,740 
			 Ultima Business Solutions — — — 27,600 25,900 53,500 
			 Pion Economics — 9,250 41,950 — — 51,200 
			 Sue Southam — — 32,653 16,087 — 48,740 
			 Strategem Ltd. 10,500 — — 27,200 6,400 44,100 
			 Jmp Consultants Ltd — — 41,576 2,001 — 43,577 
			 Bura — — — 36,000 — 36,000 
			 Tamesis Business Communications — — 7,662 27,043 — 34,700 
			 Whitehead Mann — — — 24,200 8,206 32,400 
			 Dehavilland Information Services Plc — — 31,440 — — 31,440 
			 Deloitte Mcs Limited — — — 7,297 23,397 30,694 
			 Amjec Ltd — — — 28,800 — 28,800 
			 Intuition Group Ltd 6,949 2,850 8,925 9,525 — 28,248 
			 Locum Destination Consulting Ltd — — 27,783 — — 27,783 
			 Penna Executive Search — — — 26,705 621 27,325 
			 Colliers Cre Plc — — — — 26,770 26,770 
			 Entec Uk Limited — — — — 26,285 26,285 
			 Selby And Mills — — — 16,023 10,006 26,029 
			 Paul Robertson — — 8,200 16,975 — 25,175 
			 Wendy Davison Marketing Consultant — — 25,000 — — 25,000 
			 Freelance Marketing Solutions — — 25,000 — — 25,000 
			 AMP — — 12,000 12,000 — 24,000 
			 Rembrandt Consulting Limited — 19,195 4,630 — — 23,825 
			 J.P. Clarke — — 12,169 10,977 — 23,147 
			 Leyer Pritzkow — — 1,692 21,442 — 23,134 
			 Silcock Dawson And Partners — 5,950 5,750 10,550 — 22,250 
			 Hfm Consulting Limited — — — — 21,765 21,765 
			 Penna Group Finance — — — 4,950 16,658 21,608 
			 Tweeds 21,472 — — — — 21,472 
			 Ekos Limited — — 21,230 21,230 — — 
			 John Glester Consultancy Services 20,895 — — — — 20,895 
			 Robertson Cooper Limited — — — 2,472 17,692 20,164 
			 Gibson Thorpe Associates 4,046 — — 15,764 — 19,809 
			 Macnicol Graham — — — — 19,694 19,694 
			 S and S Data Ltd — — — 18,085 — 18,085 
			 Inno Tsd — — — — 17,500 17,500 
			 Giles Pott — — 16,500 — — 16,500 
			 Rocket Multimedia Limited — — 16,314 — — 16,314 
			 Future 4 Development and Consultancy — — — 16,150 — 16,150 
			 Oxgen Marketing Limited — — — 16,000 — 16,000 
			 The Regional Policy Forum — 15,000 570 — — 15,570 
			 Creative Concern — — — 15,500 — 15,500 
			 Gw 135 Ltd T/A Bucknall Austin — — — 13,550 1,305 14,855 
			 Dbi Consulting — — — 13,953 — 13,953 
			 Robinson Keane Search and Selection — — 13,333 — — 13,333 
			 Ebrahim K Bassa and Associates — — — — 13,300 13,300 
			 Alpha Consolidated Training — 9,610 3,600 — — 13,210 
			 Arthur D Little Limited — — — 12,000 — 12,000 
			 Sandberg Lip — — — — 11,346 11,346 
			 The Campaign Company Limited — — — 10,918 — 10,918 
			 Eps Consulting — — — — 10,539 10,539 
			 Dove Talk Ltd — — — — 10,142 10,142 
			 Alastair Wheeler — — — 4,875 5,259 10,134 
			 Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick and Co Ltd — — — 10,055 — 10,055 
			 M S Ashton — — 10,000 — — 10,000 
			 Synergy Associates — — 10,000 — — 10,000 
			 Joanne Hughes Market Research — — 10,000 — — 10,000 
			 Other 41,252 17,813 59,783 123,902 70,136 312,88 
			 Grand Total 649,788 435,300 873,854 1,647,287 1,454,358 5,060,588

State Aid

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry what UK state aids have been authorised by the European Commission over the past 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In the past 12 months, the European Commission has approved 47 UK State aids.
	Notified Schemes:
	The following tables sets out information on the UK State aids authorised by the Commission over the past 12 months including agriculture, fisheries and transport aids. The information is provided in two tables: Table 1 covers Industry and Transport Aids and Table 2, information on Fisheries and Agriculture Aids.
	
		Table 1
		
			 Date of Approval Title Commission Reference 
		
		
			 22 February 2006 Rural Network Support N166/05 
			 20 February 2006 Fibre Speed broadband Project in Wales N131/05 
			 20 February 2006 Waste Resources Action Programme, Prolongation and Extension N412/05 
			 1 February 2006 Climate Change Levy Exemption for Natural Gas in Northern Ireland N631/05 
			 25 January 2006 Digital Replacement Licences UK NN64/05 
			 23 January 2006 East Midlands Media Investment N73/05 
			 22 December 2005 Revision of Grant for Collaborative R&D N3 19/05 
			 21 December 2005 Regional Innovative Broadband Support in Wales N57/05 
			 21 December 2005 Outer Harbour Great Yarmouth N503/05 
			 12 December 2005 Amendments to Renewables Obligation Order 2005 N474/05 
			 17 November 2005 PPARC Industry Programme Support Scheme N473/05 
			 8 November 2005 Prolongation Viridian Growth Fund N425/05 
			 20 October 2005 Nesta Invention and Innovation programme NN81/05 
			 5 October 2005 Rural Broadband Access Project N267/05 
			 5 October 2005 Modification of the Climate Change Levy N190a/05 
			 9 September 2005 Low Carbon Research and Development Programme NN56/05 
			 24 August 2005 Disaster Recovery United Biscuits—McVitie Factory in Carlisle N231/05 
			 27 July 2005 Wave and Tidal Stream Energy Demonstration N3 18/05 
			 5 July 2005 Infrastructure Grant Programme N135/05 
			 22 June 2005 EWSI Channel Tunnel Freight Support Funding Nl 59/05 
			 7 June 2005 Irish language Broadcast Fund N503/05 
			 7 June 2005 Rescue Aid hi Favour of MG Rover NN42/05 
			 3 May 2005 Photovoltaic Demonstration Programme—prolongation until 2006 Nil/05 
			 7 March 2005 Aggregated Public Sector procurement of Broad band in Scotland Nl 17/05 
			 2 March 2005 Training Aid to Ford Motor Company N591/05 
		
	
	
		Table 2
		
			 Date of Approval Title Commission Reference 
		
		
			 14 March 2005 Breeding Programme for TSE N88/06 
			 3 March 2005 Strategic Timber Transport Fund N459/05 
			 27 February 2005 National Equine Breeding Evaluation and Performance Database N435/04 
			 25 January 2005 Modification of Climate Change Levy Rebate (Horticulture) N190b/05 
			 22 December 2005 Meat Generic Advertising Scheme Extension (Wales) N584/05 
			 22 December 2005 Meat Quality Advertising Scheme Extension N585/04 
			 8 December 2005 Extension to the Red Met Industry Forum Scheme N5 16/05 
			 7 December 2005 Beef Market Restoration Programme (England and Northern Ireland) N222/05 
			 17 November 2005 Amendment to Agricultural Development Scheme N508/05 
			 17 October 2005 Extension to the Scottish Farm Business Advice and Skills Service N439/05 
			 17 October 2005 Organic Farming Scheme (Northern Ireland) NN48/05 
			 29 September 2005 BSE Testing of 30–42 Months Beef Assurance Scheme Cattle and Casualties aged 24–30 months slaughtered for human consumption NN6/04 
			 29 September 2005 BSE testing of Cattle slaughtered for human consumption aged over 30 months NN17/04 
			 14 September 2005 National Fallen Stock Scheme (Fallen Fish) N285/05 
			 11 August 2005 Lamb Promotion Scheme (Northern Ireland) N290/05 
			 20 July 2005 Climate Change Levy (Horticulture) NN12/04 
			 20 July 2005 Climate Change Levy Relief (Food and Drink Processing) NN27/04 
			 20 July 2005 Climate Change Levy Rebate (Pigs and Poultry Sector) NN28/04 
			 20 July 2005 The National Non- Food Crops Centre Nl 90/04 
			 20 July 2005 England Rural Development Programme (Environmental Stewardship) N 406/04 
			 3 June 2005 Amendment to the Farm Nutrient Management Scheme (Northern Ireland) Nl 03/05 
			 15 March 2005 Extension to Northern Ireland Beef Quality Initiative N35/05 
		
	
	Block Exemptions:
	In addition to the information provided above, in the past 12 months, a number of other aids came under the Block Exemption Regulations which do not require prior approval by the Commission. These comprised: four under the Employment block exemption, 42 under the SME block exemption, 23 under the Training block exemption and 16 under the Agricultural block exemption. Information on the number of approved UK state aids is published by the European Commission and is available on the Commission's website at:
	http://europa.eu.mt/comm/competition/state aid/scoreboard/

Tour Operators

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department regulates tour operators providing services to UK residents travelling overseas; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Organisers and sellers of package holidays are regulated under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations 1992 (S.I.1992/3288), which implement the Council Directive (90/314/EEC), on Package Travel, in the United Kingdom.
	The regulations are enforced by Trading Standards Departments in Great Britain, and the Department of Economic Development in Northern Ireland.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bioscience and Technology Institute

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the remit is of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment inquiry into the Bioscience and Technology Institute.

Angela Smith: The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is required under the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 to appoint Company Inspectors when appropriate where a complaint is received from the public or members or officers of the company or any body or person connected with the company. The Department's function in this area is to protect the public and to regulate the market place.
	In the case of the Bioscience and Technology Institute, inspectors were appointed by the Department on 22 December 2005 as a result of a complaint received by it.
	As with all such inquiries, the Inspectors' terms of reference are to look into the substance of a complaint and any other matters which they may encounter during their investigation.

Caravan Sector

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the (a) static and (b) touring caravan sector has contributed to the economy of Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years.

Angela Smith: In 2004, domestic holidaymakers spent £11.3 million during holidays staying in static caravans, and £1.3 million during holidays in touring caravans. An estimated £3.3 million was generated from visitors to Northern Ireland, choosing to stay in the caravan and camping sector. An annual breakdown is provided in the following tables.
	
		Estimated spend for visitors staying in caravans/camping
		
			 £ million 
			  Spend 
		
		
			 2004 3.3 
			 2003 3.0 
			 2002 2.7 
			 2001 2.8 
			 2000 2.7 
			 1999 2.7 
			 1998 2.2 
			 1997 2.1 
			 1996 2.1 
			 1995 2.1 
		
	
	
		Estimated spend for domestic holidaymakers staying in towed and static caravans
		
			 £ million 
			  Towed caravans Static caravans (owned and not owned) 
		
		
			 2004 1.3 11.3 
			 2003 3.2 13.0 
			 2002 5.8 11.9 
			 2001 4.8 16.2 
			 2000 4.8 15.5 
			 1999 5.5 16.1 
			 1998 1.6 16.6 
			 1997 1.7 13.9 
			 1996 3.3 18.4 
			 1995 6.0 14.9

Citybus/Metro

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the last occasion was that a person was convicted for non-payment of the proper fare on the Citybus system.

Shaun Woodward: Translink have advised that the last occasion that a person was convicted for non-payment of the proper fare on the Citybus system was 26 October 1999.

Coastal Erosion

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Department of the Northern Ireland Office is responsible for (a) the prevention of coastal erosion and (b) its effect on tourism in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: In response to (a) I would refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Robinson) on 8 February 2006, Official Report, column 1232W.
	Regarding (b) our policies to tackle coastal erosion are guided by the Bateman formula, an historic interdepartmental agreement. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) is responsible for coastal protection works associated with schemes relating to tourism. DETI has not carried out an assessment of the effect of coastal erosion on tourism in Northern Ireland.

Cross-border Bodies (Bullying/Mismanagement)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been lodged by Northern Ireland civil servants for alleged (a) bullying and (b) mismanagement in each of the cross border bodies in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: In the last three years a complaint alleging bullying was made by a Northern Ireland civil servant working in Waterways Ireland. This complaint included allegations of mismanagement. No complaint has been lodged against any other cross border body.

Demographics

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the extent to which the demographic balance between communities in each city and county of Northern Ireland has changed in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Table 1 provides community background information from the 2001 Census for each of the five cities in Northern Ireland and each Local Government District (information at county level is not routinely produced).
	The provision of community background information, which was derived using information collected on both current religion and religion brought up in, was a new development in the 2001 Census aimed at meeting the need for additional equality monitoring data. Directly comparable community background information is not available from the 1991 Census.
	
		Table 1: 2001 Census Community Background by City (approximated) and Local Government District
		
			   Percentage 
			 Area All persons Catholic Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related) Other religions and philosophies None 
		
		
			 City (approximated)  
			 Belfast Urban Area 276,459 47.2 48.6 0.8 3.4 
			 Lisburn Urban Area 71,465 41.7 54.2 0.4 3.8 
			 Londonderry 83,699 79.1 19.4 0.4 1.1 
			 Newry City 27,433 89.6 9.4 0.2 0.9 
			 Armagh City 14,590 68.3 30.2 0.3 1.3 
			 Local Government District  
			 Antrim 48,366 38.6 56.7 0.5 4.3 
			 Ards 73,244 12.6 82.5 0.4 4.5 
			 Armagh 54,263 48.7 50.1 0.2 1.1 
			 Ballymena 58,610 21.0 76.3 0.3 2.4 
			 Ballymoney 26,894 31.9 66.2 0.1 1.8 
			 Banbridge 41,392 31.5 66.0 0.2 2.3 
			 Belfast 277,391 47.2 48.6 0.8 3.4 
			 Carrickfergus 37,659 8.7 85.1 0.4 5.9 
			 Castlereagh 66,488 18.3 77.0 0.6 4.2 
			 Coleraine 56,315 27.2 69.4 0.5 2.9 
			 Cookstown 32,581 57.6 41.1 0.1 1.1 
			 Craigavon 80,671 44.7 52.9 0.5 2.0 
			 Derry 105,066 75.4 23.2 0.4 1.1 
			 Down 63,828 62.0 35.5 0.2 2.4 
			 Dungannon 47,735 60.8 38.2 0.2 0.8 
			 Fermanagh 57,527 58.7 39.8 0.3 1.2 
			 Larne 30,832 25.2 71.7 0.1 3.0 
			 Limavady 32,422 56.6 41.6 0.1 1.7 
			 Lisburn 108,694 33.4 62.8 0.4 3.5 
			 Magherafelt 39,780 64.1 34.8 0.2 0.8 
			 Moyle 15,933 60.3 38.3 0.1 1.3 
			 Newry and Mourne 87,058 80.6 18.5 0.1 0.8 
			 Newtownabbey 79,995 19.4 76.2 0.5 4.0 
			 North Down 76,323 12.6 80.5 0.5 6.4 
			 Omagh 47,952 69.1 29.7 0.2 1.0 
			 Strabane 38,248 66.2 33.3 0.1 0.4 
			 Northern Ireland 1,685,267 43.8 53.1 0.4 2.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The term Catholic includes those respondents who gave their religion as Catholic or Roman Catholic.
	2. Cities included in this table are defined using the statutory settlement development limits provided by the DOE Planning Service as at March 2004. The Belfast Urban Area does not include the urban areas of Castlereagh, Newtownabbey or Greenisland. Newry City includes the settlement of Bessbrook.
	3. The boundaries for Banbridge and Newry & Mourne Local Government Districts in the 2001 Census are different from those in place at the time of the 1991 Census due to a boundary change in 1992.
	Information on current religion was collected in both the 1991 Census and the 2001 Census, however caution should be exercised when seeking to assess the extent of change over time due to factors such as:
	changes in the question wording giving rise to different output categories;
	differences in the levels of non-response to the religion question;
	different population bases;
	different treatments of non-response in each of the Censuses; and
	different output geographies due to boundary changes.
	Tables 2 and 3 present a breakdown of the religion information gathered in both the 1991 and 2001 Censuses at Local Government District level (comparable information for cities was not produced for 1991).
	
		Table 2: 2001 Census Religion by Local Government District
		
			   Percentage 
			 Area All persons Catholic Protestant Other religions and philosophies No religion or religion not stated 
		
		
			 Antrim 48,366 35.2 47.2 0.3 17.3 
			 Ards 73,244 10.4 68.7 0.3 20.6 
			 Armagh 54,263 45.4 45.5 0.1 9.0 
			 Ballymena 58,610 19.0 67.8 0.3 13.0 
			 Ballymoney 26,894 29.6 59.1 0.1 11.3 
			 Banbridge 41,392 28.6 58.7 0.2 12.5 
			 Belfast 277,391 42.1 40.4 0.6 16.9 
			 Carrickfergus 37,659 6.5 70.4 0.3 22.8 
			 Castlereagh 66,488 15.8 64.9 0.5 18.8 
			 Coleraine 56,315 24.1 60.5 0.3 15.1 
			 Cookstown 32,581 55.2 38.0 0.1 6.8 
			 Craigavon 80,671 41.7 46.7 0.4 11.3 
			 Derry 105,066 70.9 20.8 0.3 8.1 
			 Down 63,828 57.1 29.2 0.1 13.6 
			 Dungannon 47,735 57.4 34.9 0.1 7.6 
			 Fermanagh 57,527 55.5 36.1 0.2 8.1 
			 Larne 30,832 22.3 61.9 0.1 15.8 
			 Limavady 32,422 53.1 36.2 0.1 10.6 
			 Lisburn 108,694 30.1 53.6 0.3 16.1 
			 Magherafelt 39,780 61.5 32.0 0.2 6.3 
			 Moyle 15,933 56.6 33.8 0.1 9.5 
			 Newry and Mourne 87,058 75.9 16.4 0.1 7.6 
			 Newtownabbey 79,995 17.1 64.5 0.3 18.1 
			 North Down 76,323 10.0 64.5 0.4 25.1 
			 Omagh 47,952 65.1 26.3 0.2 8.4 
			 Strabane 38,248 63.1 30.9 0.1 5.9 
			 Northern Ireland 1,685,267 40.3 45.6 0.3 13.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The term Catholic includes those respondents who gave their religion as Catholic or Roman Catholic.
	2. The boundaries for Banbridge and Newry & Mourne Local Government Districts in the 2001 Census are different from those in place at the time of the 1991 Census due to a boundary change in 1992.
	
		Table 3: 1991 Census Religion by Local Government District
		
			   Percentage 
			 Area All persons Roman Catholic Protestant and Other None Not Stated 
		
		
			 Antrim 44,516 31.7 54.8 4.6 9.0 
			 Ards 64,764 11.3 73.8 6.0 8.8 
			 Armagh 51,817 45.4 47.2 1.6 5.9 
			 Ballymena 56,641 18.4 71.5 3.3 6.9 
			 Ballymoney 24,198 30.2 61.5 2.2 6.2 
			 Banbridge 33,482 27.6 61.4 2.8 8.1 
			 Belfast 279,237 39.0 47.6 5.3 8.2 
			 Carrickfergus 32,750 6.9 77.6 7.6 7.9 
			 Castlereagh 60,799 9.5 75.5 6.3 8.8 
			 Coleraine 50,438 22.5 66.4 4.2 7.0 
			 Cookstown 31,082 53.2 40.3 1.2 5.3 
			 Craigavon 74,986 40.1 50.0 2.6 7.3 
			 Derry 95,371 69.5 23.6 1.4 5.5 
			 Down 58,008 56.0 33.1 2.9 8.0 
			 Dungannon 45,428 55.7 38.3 0.9 5.2 
			 Fermanagh 54,033 54.9 39.0 1.4 4.7 
			 Larne 29,419 22.1 64.9 4.4 8.6 
			 Limavady 29,567 51.7 39.3 1.7 7.3 
			 Lisburn 99,458 26.9 60.8 4.8 7.4 
			 Magherafelt 362,93 58.9 34.8 0.9 5.4 
			 Moyle 147,89 52.2 39.5 1.7 6.6 
			 Newry and Mourne 82,943 71.8 19.8 1.1 7.2 
			 Newtownabbey 74,035 13.0 71.8 6.1 9.2 
			 North Down 71,832 9.0 73.5 8.6 9.0 
			 Omagh 45,809 64.3 29.7 1.2 4.7 
			 Strabane 36,141 61.8 33.4 0.8 4.0 
			 Northern Ireland 1,577,836 38.4 50.6 3.8 7.3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. In 1991 Census outputs, non-Christian religions were combined with Protestants.
	2. The boundaries for Banbridge and Newry & Mourne Local Government Districts in the 2001 Census are different from those in place at the time of the 1991 Census due to a boundary change in 1992.

Demographics

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people over the age of 65 years there are in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: At mid-year 2004, the official estimate of the Northern Ireland resident population aged 65 years and over was 233,400 people.

Deprivation

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for additional schemes to tackle deprivation in (a) (i) the Erskin and (ii) the Grange estates in Ballyclane, (b) housing estates in Antrim Town and (c) the (i) New Mossley and (ii) Ballyduff areas of Newtownabbey.

David Hanson: In the upcoming four financial years the Housing Executive will improve some 1,330 dwellings in these areas at a cost in excess of £12 million through a number of programmes:
	Decent Homes;
	The Replacement of Non-Manual Heating Systems;
	Environmental Improvements;
	Neighbourhood Regeneration;
	A number of other, non housing related initiatives are also under way in these areas. A neighbourhood partnership involving the local residents of the Grange and Thornhill and the statutory providers, including local schools and churches, is currently being established under the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy. The partnership will bring forward a vision framework and associated action plan to help address deprivation factors in the estate. In addition a number of environmental improvement schemes, to be taken forward under the creating common ground initiative, are also proposed for the main housing estates in Antrim.
	All of these programmes will contribute substantially to improving living conditions in these areas.

Firefighters

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many part-time firefighters applied to become full-time firefighters in each Northern Ireland Fire Service station in each of the last five years, and how many of those applications were successful.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not held centrally, either within the Department or by the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland and will take time to prepare. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the information becomes available.
	Substantive answer from Shaun Woodward to Mark Durkan:
	The numbers of retained firefighters applying to become full-time firefighters in the recruitment campaigns in 2001 and 2003 are set out in the tables below. In the 2005 campaign, a process of random selection was used in the first instance and it is therefore not possible to identify the numbers of retained personnel eliminated at the first stage of selection. However, of the 300 applications randomly selected, 6 were from retained firefighters and of these, three were successful.
	
		Retained personnel who applied for whole-time recruitment 2001
		
			 Breakdown by station 
			 Station Number of applicants Appointed 
		
		
			 Antrim 2 — 
			 Armagh 3 — 
			 Ballyclare 3 — 
			 Ballymena 1 — 
			 Ballymoney 1 1 
			 Ballynahinch 1 — 
			 Ballywalter 1 — 
			 Banbridge 6 — 
			 Bangor 5 — 
			 Carnlough 1 — 
			 Carrickfergus 3 — 
			 Carryduff 4 2 
			 Castlederg 2 — 
			 Clogher 3 — 
			 Coleraine 5 — 
			 Comber 1 — 
			 Cookstown 3 — 
			 Crossmaglen 1 — 
			 Crumlin 3 — 
			 Cushendall 1 1 
			 Donaghadee 2 — 
			 Downpatrick 2 — 
			 Dungannon 1 — 
			 Dungiven 3 — 
			 Fintona 2 — 
			 Glengormley 2 — 
			 Holywood 3 — 
			 Keady 1 — 
			 Kilkeel 1 — 
			 Larne 3 1 
			 Limavady 2 — 
			 Lisnaskea 1 — 
			 Lurgan 3 — 
			 Maghera 2 — 
			 Magherafelt 3 — 
			 Newcastle 1 — 
			 Newry 5 1 
			 Newtownards 4 — 
			 Newtownhamilton 1 — 
			 Newtownstewart 1 — 
			 Omagh 4 — 
			 Portaferry 1 — 
			 Portrush 1 — 
			 Portstewart 2 — 
			 Rathfriland 1 — 
			 Strabane 3 — 
			 Warrenpoint 5 1 
			 Whitehead 2 — 
			 Total 112 7 
		
	
	
		Retained personnel who applied for whole-time recruitment 2003
		
			 Breakdown by station 
			 Station Number of applicants Appointed 
		
		
			 Antrim 2 2 
			 Armagh 4 1 
			 Ballycastle 2 — 
			 Ballyclare 2 — 
			 Ballymena 3 — 
			 Ballymoney 2 — 
			 Ballynahinch 1 — 
			 Ballywalter 3 — 
			 Banbridge 7 — 
			 Bangor 4 — 
			 Carnlough 3 — 
			 Carrickfergus 3 2 
			 Carryduff 6 1 
			 Castlederg 6 — 
			 Clogher 3 — 
			 Coleraine 2 — 
			 Comber 2 — 
			 Cookstown 3 — 
			 Crossmaglen 1 1 
			 Crumlin 5 — 
			 Cushendall 4 — 
			 Donaghadee 2 — 
			 Downpatrick 3 — 
			 Dungannon 4 — 
			 Dungiven 3 — 
			 Enniskillen 2 — 
			 Fintona 2 — 
			 Holywood 2 — 
			 Irvinestown 2 — 
			 Keady 3 — 
			 Kilkeel 5 — 
			 Larne 5 — 
			 Limavady 6 — 
			 Lisburn 3 — 
			 Lurgan 2 1 
			 Maghera 1 — 
			 Magherafelt 3 — 
			 Newcastle 2 — 
			 Newry 5 — 
			 Newtownards 4 — 
			 Newtownhamilton 2 — 
			 Newtownstewart 3 — 
			 Omagh 5 — 
			 Portadown 4 — 
			 Portaferry 2 — 
			 Portrush 3 — 
			 Rathfriland 1 — 
			 Strabane 7 — 
			 Warrenpoint 4 1 
			 Total 158 9 
		
	
	
		Retained personnel who applied for whole-time recruitment 2005
		
			 Breakdown by station 
			 Station Number of applicants Appointed 
		
		
			 Ballynahinch 1 — 
			 Banbridge 1 1 
			 Crossmaglen 1 1 
			 Omagh 1 — 
			 Portadown 1 — 
			 Warrenpoint 1 1 
			 Total 6 3

Learning Disability

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what educational provision is made in Northern Ireland for young people with profound learning disabilities aged over 19 years; and in what locations.

Angela Smith: In 2003–04 there were 1,696 students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (SLDD) aged between 19 and 25 years enrolled in the statutory further education sector, participating both in mainstream education and training provision alongside non-SLDD students, as well as on courses designed specifically for SLDD students. In addition to the provision within further education colleges, this figure also represents college provision in locations other than college sites; however information on the exact locations is not held by the Department. The term SLDD covers all degrees of learning difficulties, including those who may have profound learning difficulties, but the Department does not hold information on the actual number of such students with profound learning difficulties.
	In addition, under the Skills and Science Fund, the Department for Employment and Learning will be developing more flexible provision focusing on the personal and social development needs of young people with disabilities and/or special educational needs.

Murals (Loyalist Areas)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Community Relations Council in Northern Ireland has to offer support and financial assistance for the development of cultural and historical murals in Loyalist areas.

Angela Smith: The Community Relations Council continues to welcome and consider practical proposals that will remove aggressive paramilitary murals, including those in Loyalist areas, and replace them with agreed cultural and historic imagery.

Policing Board

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the members chosen for the Policing Board for Northern Ireland; and when he expects to announce the final composition.

Shaun Woodward: My right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Peter Hain) announced the new membership of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on 13 March 2006.
	The membership is as follows:
	Ian Paisley Jnr MLA
	William Hay MLA
	Arlene Foster MLA
	Peter Weir MLA
	Fred Cobain MLA
	Danny Kennedy MLA
	Alex Attwood MLA
	Dolores Kelly MLA
	Professor Sir Desmond Rea
	Joe Byrne
	Barry Gilligan
	Pauline McCabe
	Rosaleen Moore
	Suneil Sharma
	Dawn Purvis
	Brian Rea MBE JP
	Trevor Ringland
	Brendan Duddy
	Deirdre MacBride

School Lands and Properties

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated value is of school lands and properties used by the (a) maintained, (b) controlled, (c) integrated and (d) Irish language sectors of education in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Valuation and Lands Agency of the Department of Finance and Personnel undertook a revised valuation of the school estate in 2003–04. The estimated valuations, which are shown as follows, are not readily available under the headings requested and cover nursery, primary, secondary, grammar and special school land and properties and school meals kitchen accommodations. These valuations are currently under review.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Maintained (includes Irish medium) 860,000,000 
			 Controlled (includes controlled integrated) 1,425,000,000 
			 Voluntary (includes grant maintained integrated) 606,000,000 
			 Total 2,891,000,000

Social Housing

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new social housing units have been built in Lagan Valley constituency in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: The number of houses completed for each year is as follows:
	
		
			  Number of houses 
		
		
			 2000–01 130 
			 2001–02 236 
			 2002–03 86 
			 2003–04 70 
			 2004–05 69 
		
	
	In addition, for 2005–06, 204 houses are currently under construction, with a further 89 planned to go on site before the end of March.
	The figures include new build and houses purchased from the open market either in good condition or for rehabilitation, prior to letting. All are additions to the social housing stock.

Social Housing

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average number of persons on the waiting list for social housing in Lagan Valley constituency has been in each year since 2001.

David Hanson: The information is not available in the form requested. The Lagan Valley constituency includes areas covered by the Housing Executive's Lisburn District, Antrim Street, and the Dromore area of Banbridge.
	The following table sets out the most recent figures on the number of Social Housing Applicants on the waiting list each year from September 2001 to September 2005 for the relevant areas. It also includes the numbers who were considered to be in housing stress.
	
		
			  Year to September: Lisburn, Antrim Street total applicants Dromore total applicants 
		
		
			 2001 1,227 56 
			 2002 1,415 62 
			 2003 1,338 49 
			 2004 1,400 70 
			 2005 1,609 82

Women's Projects

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's budget has been allocated to projects specifically aimed at women in each of the last three years.

David Hanson: In each of the last three financial years, the percentage of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's budget which was allocated to projects specifically aimed at women is shown on the following table.
	
		Expenditure allocated to projects specifically aimed at women as a percentage of DCAL Budget
		
			 Financial year Percentage 
		
		
			 2003–04 0.3 
			 2004–05 0.3 
			 2005–06 0.3 
		
	
	The percentages shown against 2003–04 and 2004–05 have been calculated on the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's final budgets for those financial years. The percentage for 2005–06 has been calculated on the Department's provisional budget for that financial year and the estimated expenditure of the project providers.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Pay

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent assessment he has made of equality of pay between male and female civil servants.

Jim Murphy: The Cabinet Office undertook an equal pay review for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) in 2002 and equal pay has been re-examined each year since then as part of the Government's evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body.
	The link to this year's Government evidence is available at www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/performance/scs/index.asp
	Under the delegated pay arrangements for staff below the SCS, every department and agency produced an equal pay action plan in 2003 as part of the Government's commitment to address the gender pay gap. Civil service organisations continue to monitor progress against their action plans and equality-proof their pay systems following implementation of annual pay awards.

Get Safe Online Campaign

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further measures he plans to take to promote the Get Safe Online campaign.

Jim Murphy: The Get Safe Online campaign was launched the end of October 2005. The campaign is a joint public and private sector initiative to raise awareness of the internet security and to help people to go online line safely and with confidence.
	The Cabinet Office is a proud sponsor of the campaign alongside BT, Dell, eBay, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Message Labs, Microsoft, securetrading and Yell.com. The Home Office, DTI, NISCC (National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre) and the National Hi Tech Crime Unit—soon to be part of SOCA (Serious and Organised Crime Agency) are also involved in the project.
	Get Safe Online is very much a collaboration amongst all these organisations. Government as well as online companies in the retail, finance and technology sectors all have an interest in ensuring that people know what to do to protect themselves, their families and their businesses whether they are shopping, banking or interacting with government online. In particular, as our Transformational Government Strategy states: Government will also play its part to promote public confidence by leading a public/private campaign on internet safety", a commitment that Get Safe Online is successfully meeting.
	The first phase of the campaign involved a PR campaign to raise awareness of the initiative and the website. A roadshow of internet security experts was taken round the major cities stopping at UK Online centres, shopping centres, colleges and libraries as well as Age Concern centres. There was also a competition through Metro newspapers around the country. The most prolific support for the campaign has been through the sponsors themselves. For example eBay, with over 13 million UK users a month, has given exposure to Get Safe Online on its website which would have cost in excess of £10 million to date.
	This kind of campaign activity through the current sponsors will continue and we intend for the campaign to run for two to three years. A further phase of activity is planned over the next few months which entails online advertising as well as PR activity. Importantly, the initiative is gaining momentum and cooperation across community organisations and local government. Many local councils have put a link to Get Safe Online to help their cooperation from community organisations such as the NCPTA (National Council for Parent Teachers Associations) which is sending out a 'Parent's Guide' to all secondary schools which will include advice and information from Get Safe Online later this month. Work continues to recruit new sponsors and partners to the initiative which is essential to maintaining the progress of the campaign and we hope to be able to make some important announcements in the summer about future plans.

Local Authorities (Contingency Plans)

Robert Syms: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which local authorities have undertaken practical tests of their contingency plans; and what assessment he has made of the outcomes.

Jim Murphy: The Government do not systematically gather detailed information about the number and nature of exercises carried out by local authorities.
	Part 1 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004—which came fully into force on 14 November 2005—establishes a statutory framework for civil protection activity at the local level. The Act sets out clear roles and responsibilities for local responders and establishes a basis for effective performance management. Under this legislation Category 1 responders (e.g. local authorities, emergency services, health bodies) are required to maintain emergency plans and business continuity arrangements to ensure that they can respond effectively to the full range of emergencies. The legislation also requires Category 1 responders to put in place a programme of exercises to test the effectiveness of these plans.
	Responders' performance against the requirements set out in the Act are being monitored by their existing performance assessment bodies (e.g. Audit Commission, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary).

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Accessible Housing Register

Danny Alexander: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many local authorities maintain an accessible housing register.

Yvette Cooper: Allocations are a matter for local authorities to decide on, based upon local requirements. It is, therefore, up to each local authority to decide whether they wish to maintain an accessible housing register or not. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Airfields

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he has issued on residential development on airfields.

Yvette Cooper: Draft Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3), published for consultation on 5 December last year, set out a new policy framework for planning for housing in England, and will replace existing planning policy guidance (set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing (PPG3)) when it is finalised later in the year.
	The new policy statement does not change the approach to residential development on airfields.

Brownfield Development (Hampshire)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect on wildlife habitat of brownfield development in local authority areas in Hampshire which include special protection areas; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: None. Any proposals for development on or near to a Special Protection Area (SPA) are subject to the provisions of the Conservation (Natural Habitats Etc) Regulations 1994. Before planning permission can be granted for any development close to a Special Protection Area (SPA), the local authority is required, under the regulations to make an appropriate assessment of the significance of the implications of that development on the SPA. The local authority should consult English Nature and have regard to any representations that it might make. If there are no alternative solutions, the authority may only agree to development that will adversely affect the integrity of the SPA if it can demonstrate that there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest.

Building Regulations

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring forward proposals to strengthen Part E of the Building Regulations (England and Wales) as they relate to resistance to the transmission of sound in relation to wooden or laminate floors.

Yvette Cooper: Sound insulation between dwellings is controlled under Part E of the Building Regulations. The Building Regulations apply to new buildings, and specified types of work in existing buildings. Currently, laying laminated flooring on an existing floor is not specifically controlled under the legislative scheme, and there are no current plans to amend the Building Regulations to provide for this.

Building Regulations

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he has given local authorities to ensure the consistent application of Part M of the Building Regulations by building control officers.

Yvette Cooper: Guidance on application of the requirements of Building Regulations is contained in Approved Documents issued with the approval of the First Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. The requirements of the regulations are expressed in functional terms (Requirement Ml is that
	Reasonable provision shall be made for people to gain access to and use the building and its facilities").
	Every Approved Document states
	Approved Documents are intended to provide guidance for some of the more common building situations. However, there may well be alternative ways of achieving compliance with the requirements. Thus there is no obligation to adopt any particular solution contained in an Approved Document if you prefer to meet the relevant requirement in some other way."
	There is therefore, necessarily, room for discretion in the application of the requirements, though in most cases the guidance in the Approved Document is followed.

Building Regulations

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases there have been of enforcement action against builders for breaches of Part M of the Building Regulations in the last three years; and what the result of the enforcement action was in each case where proceedings are complete.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Building Regulations

David Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact on staffing levels in (a) public sector and (b) private sector building control bodies of the technical requirements of the building regulations due to come into effect on 6 April 2006.

Yvette Cooper: The impact on Building Control Bodies of the technical requirements of Part L of the building regulations due to come into effect in April 2006 was assessed in the draft Regulatory Impact Assessment published in 2004. Since then Building Control Bodies have helped in refining the proposals and with developing our largest ever information campaign which got under way last July.
	The changes in April 2006 will simplify procedures, encourage a more focussed approach to compliance checking and introduce new self-certification schemes. The information campaign aims to ensure that all building control people have the information they need. A final Regulatory Impact Assessment will be published when I lay the 2006 Statutory Instrument.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the likely effect on carbon dioxide emissions of domestic conservatory extensions being subject to planning permission and the concomitant energy efficiency standards; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Conservatories are subject to planning permission and have been for the last half a century. The Planning system does not set specific energy efficiency standards.

Circulars

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many circulars his Department issued to local authorities in each year since 1997, broken down by topic.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established on 29 May 2002, since then the ODPM has issued a total of 36 circulars. These are broken down as follows:
	
		
			  2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 
		
		
			 Building 1 2 4 1 — 
			 Housing — 1 — 1 — 
			 Local government — 6 4 — — 
			 Planning 2 3 1 10 1

Civil Servants (Foreign Trips)

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many foreign trips paid for by public funds his Department's civil servants have undertaken in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) was created following the Machinery of Government changes on 29 May 2002. The detailed information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All travel by ODPM staff is conducted in accordance with requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.

Concessionary Travel (Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding for the concessionary travel scheme has been allocated to Lancashire county council; what this represents as a percentage of the council's total budget; and whether this money is ringfenced.

Phil Woolas: Concessionary travel is one of the services supplied by Shire district councils in two-tier areas.
	It is not possible to calculate how much funding has been allocated to each district-level authority with respect to concessionary fares, since this is funded through an unhypothecated formula grant. This means that authorities are able to use the grant for any purpose. The total amount added to the RSG was £350 million which was distributed through the lower tier EPCS formula.

Correspondence

David Lidington: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will reply to the letter of 20 December 2005 from the hon. Member for Aylesbury about the case of Mr. D. W. of Stokenchurch, Bucks.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The hon. Member's letter has been transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as it relates to issues which are the responsibility of that Department. DWP will therefore respond directly. I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay that occurred in transferring the letter.

Electoral Cycles

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department has had discussions on changing the electoral cycles of the metropolitan districts in England.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is planning to publish a White Paper on the future of local government in the summer.

Empty Properties

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with (a) Ministerial colleagues and (b) others on empty publicly-owned residential properties.

Yvette Cooper: As announced in the Government's response to the Barker review of housing supply, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and HM Treasury have established a joint Taskforce to release more surplus public-sector land for housing development.
	The intention is that the Taskforce, working with English Partnerships, will provide a comprehensive picture of surplus public sector landholdings, including sites that incorporate unoccupied residential properties.

Energy Efficiency

Mark Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what financial support his Department has made available to councils to improve energy efficiency within their properties.

Yvette Cooper: In 2004–05 local authorities reported in their BPSA returns that they spent £424 million on heating and insulation (either thermal or sound). The majority of this expenditure will come from funding provided by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	Other work being carried out by local authorities, such as installing double glazed windows, will also improve the energy efficiency of their properties.

Government Office for London

David Evennett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the running costs of the Government office for London were in each of the past four years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Government office for London (GOL) running cost (admin) expenditure is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2002–03 14.1 
			 2003–04 16.7 
			 2004–05 18.9 
			 2005–06(22) 18.4 
		
	
	(22) The expenditure figure for 2005–06 reflects the anticipated end-year out-turn.

Government Office for London

David Evennett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff were employed in the Government office for London in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2004–05.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government office for London staffing figures 1 from 2000 onwards are as follows:
	1 GOL staffing figures have been calculated as those staff (in staff units, not FTEs) working in GOL on GOL business paid for by GOL. These figures therefore do not include staff on outward secondment, outward loan, maternity leave, special leave and career breaks for whom we do not pay but who have a right of return to the organisation. Nor have we included those seconded into GOL who are paid for by their own employer.
	
		
			 As at April: Number 
		
		
			 2000 370 
			 2001 240 
			 2002 260 
			 2003 288 
			 2004 325 
			 2005 308

Graffiti/Fly-posting

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what financial contributions the local authority in Swindon has sought under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to tackle graffiti and fly-posting.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not monitor agreements reached under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act.

High Hedges Act

Chris Mullin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many remedial notices have been issued under the High Hedges Act 2001 since it came into force; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The relevant provisions, in Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, came into force in England on 1 June 2005.

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether (a) home information packs and (b) home condition reports will be required for new-build residential properties on the market for the first time.

Yvette Cooper: New-build residential properties will require a Home Information Pack, giving potential buyers the key information they need up-front to make an informed decision about the purchase. However, regulations will specify that where a new home has an appropriate warranty which is uncommenced, a Home Condition Report will not be required in the Pack. ODPM intends to set out in the regulations the standard of warranty which will provide this exemption.

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of home information packs which will be produced in each year once the scheme is fully operational.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 7 March 2006, Official Report, column 1359W.

Home Information Packs

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether home information packs will be required to contain information on whether the property is in an area of high flood risk.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has indicated the intention to include information about flood risk in the Home Information Pack, subject to the availability of a satisfactory search that provides robust, risk-based, and user friendly information that is property specific and avoids giving rise to unnecessary concerns and blight. The Environment Agency has produced a search that they believe meets these criteria and this is now being considered in consultation with colleagues in Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), key industry stakeholders and consumer representatives. The content of the home information pack will be set out in regulations to be made later this year.

Homelessness

Richard Burden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2226W, on homelessness, if he will list the local authorities which will receive this support.

Yvette Cooper: All 354 borough and district councils in England will receive support from the £88 million in Homelessness Grants over 2006–07 and 2007–08. A table which lists the amounts that each local authority will receive has been made available in the Library of the House.

House Building (Staffordshire)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new homes he expects to be built in Staffordshire in (a) 2006–07 and (b) each of the following three years.

Yvette Cooper: The regional spatial strategy for the west midlands sets out the levels and distribution of housing development for the region covering the period 2001–2021. Policy CF3 (and Table 1) set out annual rates of housing provision for strategic authorities in the west midlands. For Staffordshire the policy seeks to achieve annual average rates (which are to be applied as maxima) of 2,900 dwellings for 2006–07 and 2,500 for each of the following three years.

Households (Statistics)

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2228W, what the average population is of each tier.

Yvette Cooper: The average population in each tier in England is as follows:
	(a) District council (All local authorities excluding unitary local authorities, metropolitan councils and London boroughs)—97,000
	(b) County council (all county councils excluding metropolitan councils)—738,000
	(c) Unitary authorities (All unitary local authorities in England excluding London boroughs and metropolitan councils)—180,000
	(d) Metropolitan council (all metropolitan council areas)—303,000
	(e) London borough (all London boroughs including City of London)—224,000
	Source:
	ONS 2003 mid year estimated resident population estimates.

Housing

Richard Spring: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many empty homes there were in Suffolk in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The number of vacant dwellings in Suffolk, from 1997 to 2004, is tabled as follows. These figures are the latest available data:
	
		
			  Snapshot date Vacant dwellings 
		
		
			 1997 1 April 13,200 
			 1998 1 April 11,500 
			 1999 1 April 10,900 
			 2000 1 April 8,900 
			 2001 1 April 9,400 
			 2002 1 November 9,100 
			 2003 3November 9,500 
			 2004 1 November 9,200 
		
	
	Source:
	The figures for 1997 to 2001 are based on a combination of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) return, and the Housing Corporation's Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR). For the years 2002 to 2004 the figures are based on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Council Tax Base 1 (CTB1) return.
	These figures are for all vacant dwellings, including dwellings that have been empty for less than six months, some for less than one month. The Government are introducing new powers from April 2006 for local authorities to reduce the number of long-term empty homes in their area.

Housing

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2234W, to the hon. Member for Brent East, on housing, what weighting is given in the (a) management and maintenance allowance and (b) major repairs allowance formulae to compensate local authorities in London for the costs associated with medium and high rise tower blocks.

Yvette Cooper: The detailed calculations of both management and maintenance allowances and major repairs allowance (including archetype weightings) are set out in the commentary on the 2006–07 Housing Revenue Account Subsidy Determination. A copy of this is available in the Library of the House or on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website.
	(a) Management allowances take into account the proportion of high and medium rise flats in a local authority. The greater is an authority's proportion of high and medium rise flats, the greater the management allowance per dwelling in that authority.
	Maintenance allowances are calculated assuming a level of responsive repairs, planned works, basic works for relets and terminations, crime related work to voids. Each of these items of work is assumed to take a different cost depending on the dwelling type it is associated with. The stock mix of an authority therefore determines their maintenance subsidy entitlement.
	(b) The calculation of the major repairs allowance (MRA) takes into account the stock mix of dwellings within an individual local authority. Each of 13 different archetypes attracts a different level of MRA.

Housing

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council houses have been sold under the right-to-buy scheme in Milton Keynes each year since 1998.

Yvette Cooper: The number of council houses sold in Milton Keynes under the right-to-buy scheme in each year since 1998–99 as reported by Milton Keynes can be found on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/383/Table648Excel545Kb_id1156383.xls Information is only available for the years shown.

Housing

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many empty homes there were in (a) the Milton Keynes unitary authority area and (b) South East England in each of the last 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: The number of vacant dwellings in Milton Keynes unitary authority area and South East England, from 1995 to 2004, is tabled as follows. These figures are the latest available data:
	
		
			  Snapshot date Milton Keynes South East 
		
		
			 1995 1 April 4,002 107,800 
			 1996 1 April (23)— 106,500 
			 1997 1 April (23)— 100,000 
			 1998 1 April 2,246 95,000 
			 1999 1 April 2,712 94,800 
			 2000 1 April 1,128 87,100 
			 2001 1 April 2,259 86,700 
			 2002 1 November 2,016 101,400 
			 2003 3 November 2,003 100,800 
			 2004 1 November 2,051 98,800 
		
	
	(23) No figure supplied.
	Source:
	The figures for 1995 to 2001 are based on a combination of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) return, and the Housing Corporation's Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR). For the years 2002 to 2004 the figures are based on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Council Tax Base 1 (CTB1) return.
	These figures are for all vacant dwellings, including dwellings that have been empty for less than six months, some for less than one month. The Government are introducing new powers from April 2006 for local authorities to reduce the number of long-term empty homes in their area.

Housing

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on alternatives to housing stock transfer as a method for strategic investment in council housing.

Yvette Cooper: Where local authorities require additional resources to meet the decent homes target, they can opt to establish an arms length management organisation (ALMO) or private finance initiative (PFI) scheme, as an alternative to transferring their stock. Where authorities can meet the target through their own resources they can opt to retain their stock.

Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) council houses and (b) flats are owned by each local authority.

Yvette Cooper: A table with the requested data has been deposited in the House Library. The table shows the number of houses (including bungalows) and the number of flats owned by each local authority at 1 April 2005, as reported on the audited base data return forms that LAs complete in order to claim Housing Revenue Account Subsidy. The table includes shared ownership and PFI dwellings.

Housing

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council houses in (a) Sunderland city council and (b) Houghton and Washington, East constituency (i) have been brought up to the decent homes standard and (ii) remain to be brought up to that standard.

Yvette Cooper: Sunderland city council transferred all of its housing stock to six Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in 2001.
	In 2002 these RSLs reported that they had 23,000 homes which failed the Decent Homes standard. In 2005 they reported that only 43 were non-decent. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold data on non-decency at a constituency level.

Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much grant was used by housing associations to buy land for key worker housing in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: Grant funding is provided to housing associations to deliver housing and is not provided specifically in relation to land costs and construction costs. The following table details the amount of grant provided to housing associations to develop new build homes for key workers over the last five years.
	
		£
		
			  Starter Home Initiative Challenge Fund Key working living 
		
		
			 2000–01 0 0 0 
			 2001–02 112,609 0 0 
			 2002–03 6,262,914 0 0 
			 2003–04 17,548,536 158,502,207 0 
			 2004–05 246,116 4,055,218 231,985,257 
		
	
	Note:
	Key worker figures for Challenge Fund assumed to be 50 per cent. of total Challenge Fund approvals

Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what data he collects on the size of new homes.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities do not supply information on the size of new build completions. The National House Building Council, however, provides information on whether the new dwelling is a house or flat and the number of bedrooms. The NHBC report on around 50 per cent. of new build completions in England therefore this data enables an estimate to be made of proportions of total completions by type and number of bedrooms. This information for England and the regions is published in statistical tables 251 and 252 on the ODPM website. http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l 156032

Housing

Peter Bone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of new homes to be built in Wellingborough constituency over the next 15 years.

Yvette Cooper: The Secretary of State my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's policy on development in Northamptonshire is set out in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub Regional Strategy, which was published in March 2005. This document sets out the future housing provision for local authority areas for the period 2001–21. The hon. Member's constituency covers the borough council of Wellingborough and part of East Northamptonshire district council. The level of housing provision within the Wellingborough local authority area over the next 15 years (2006–21) is set at 9,825 new dwellings. The level of housing provision within the East Northamptonshire local authority area over the next 15 years (2006–21) is set at 6,800 new dwellings.

Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what projection he has made of the proportion of the budgeted social housing grant which will be spent in 2005–06; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Corporation provides regular forecasts to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and has estimated that around 98 per cent. of its budget for social housing grant will be spent in 2005–06.

Housing

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether unspent local authority funds for social housing may be transferred to shared ownership programmes.

Yvette Cooper: There are no barriers to local authorities using their own funding to provide social housing and low cost home ownership schemes. This is a matter for local authorities to decide.

Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of new social housing is (a) built to and (b) easily adapted to the high wheelchair standard.

Yvette Cooper: In 2004–05, 8 per cent. of new social housing units in schemes approved as part of the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme in England, were built to the high wheelchair standard. Information is not available on housing that can be adapted to the high wheelchair standard.

Housing Benefit

Margaret Moran: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research he has undertaken on the views of registered social landlords on the removal of housing benefit from tenants who engage in antisocial behaviour.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not undertaken any research on this subject to date.

Housing Corporation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to merge the Housing Corporation with English Partnerships.

Yvette Cooper: No decision has been taken to merge the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister believes both organisations are doing important, valuable and complementary work.

Local Government Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will make public the results of his Department's discussions with the Local Government Association on additional financial assistance for local authorities to cover the costs associated with (a) licensing, (b) asylum-seekers, (c) pensions and (d) disposal of electrical equipment; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Under the new burdens doctrine the Government are committed to ensuring the net additional costs of new policies are covered. The outcome of the joint work with the Local Government Association to look at the pressures councils face, and the ways central and local government can manage those pressures, was announced in the statement to the House on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's proposals for the funding of local authority revenue spending in 2006–07 and 2007–08 on 5 December 2005, Official Report, column 627WS. This included extra formula grant for the two years over and above previous plans of £305 million and £508 million for local government, and a commitment to the new burdens procedure.
	In that statement, it was reiterated that the cost pressures arising from the temporary reinstatement of the 85 year rule in the local government pension scheme will not fall on taxpayers; and the Government's commitment that costs to local authorities from meeting their requirements under the new Licensing Act will be fully met by fees within the national fee regime, provided they are incurred legitimately and efficiently.
	Parliament has now approved the ODPM proposals and the Local Government Finance Settlement provides for an overall increase in Government grant of 4.5 per cent. and 5 per cent. over the next two years.

Local Government Finance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2239W to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) on local government finance, how much each local authority in England was paid in service debt charges in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: I have arranged for the information to be made available in the Library of the House detailing the value of each authority's Housing Revenue Account Subsidy entitlement for debt charges. The data for 2005–06 has not yet been audited and should be considered preliminary data only and subject to change.

Local Government Finance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2239W, to the hon. Member for Brent, East, on local government finance, what the local authority allowances for management, maintenance and major repairs were in each year since 1997; and what the (a) service debt charges and (b) rental income paid to local authorities were in each year in the same period.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is tabled as follows; the major repairs allowance was introduced on 1 April 2001:
	
		£
		
			 Financial year Management and maintenance allowances Major repairs allowance Debt charges Rental income 
		
		
			 1997–98 3,305,129,205 n/a 2,205,198,847 6,203,623,481 
			 1998–99 3,222,794,448 n/a 2,136,542,900 6,215,605,975 
			 1999–2000 3,140,141,485 n/a 2,012,611,835 6,158,111,546 
			 2000–01 3,058,973,906 n/a 1,923,747,474 6,089,846,505 
			 2001–02 2,962,262,674 1,586,912,234 1,810,651,777 6,005,789,010 
			 2002–03 2,983,786,673 1,528,961,056 1,669,557,784 5,940,056,612 
			 2003–04 2,970,858,979 1,456,159,167 1,531,423,203 5,815,814,233 
			 2004–05 3,081,806,590 1,389,402,322 1,204,841,327 5,721,590,235 
			 2005–06 3,221,049,641 1,357,445,827 1,175,683,667 5,721,729,048

Local Government Finance

David Evennett: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received on the 2006–07 local government settlement for the London Borough of Bexley.

Phil Woolas: The London borough of Bexley submitted two written representations during the consultation period on the provisional local government settlement for 2006–07; one on a range of issues and one specifically on the subject of school capital allocations.

Mayors

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to review the legislation which introduced directly elected mayors.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is planning to publish a White Paper on the future of local government in the summer.

Milton Keynes Partnerships

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2241W, on Milton Keynes Partnership, what the levels of remuneration are for each member of Milton Keynes Partnerships.

Yvette Cooper: The remuneration details per annum for members of the Milton Keynes Partnership are as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Voting member Representing Remunerated 
		
		
			 Sir Bob Reid Independent 35,864 
			 Anne Limb Independent 7,813 
			 Cllr Isobel McCall Milton Keynes Council 7,813 
			 Cllr Euan Henderson Milton Keynes Council 7,813 
			 Cllr Roger Bristow Milton Keynes Council 7,813 
			 Wendy Lehmann Voluntary organisations 7,813 
			 Malcolm Brighton Health sector 7,813 
			 Andrew Peck Business community 7,813 
			 Dr. Pauline Lane English Partnerships (24)— 
			 Dennis Hone English Partnerships (24)— 
		
	
	(24) No.

Mobile Phone Masts

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when district councils were informed of the annual roll-out indicative plans of mobile telephone operators for mast erection in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Since 2001, during September and October, each year the mobile network operators individually wrote to every local authority with details of their network roll-out for the year ahead.
	However, in 2005, the operators collaborated to send combined network development plans from a single source; this happened on 27 October. We understand that this will be their continued practice in future years.

Parish Councils

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average length of time taken by his Department to process a parish council application from submission to final approval was in 2004–05.

Phil Woolas: The average length of time taken to process a parish council application by petition from submission to an order being made establishing a new parish in 2004–05 was nine months.

Parish Councils

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons a final decision has yet to be reached on the parish council application from the South Lathom Residents Association.

Phil Woolas: I refer the hon. Member to the explanation provided in my reply of 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2832W. I understand the Electoral Commission has still to receive information from West Lancashire district council on their consultation about the electoral arrangements for the proposed parish of Lathom South.
	It appears that the district council has now consulted on this matter with local government electors in the proposed parish. Once the Electoral Commission has obtained details about the electoral arrangements of the proposed parish from the district council they will be able to provide advice to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and we can make a final decision about this application.

Parish Councils

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance his Department follows on the length of time during which consultation on electoral arrangements for parish council applications should be conducted.

Phil Woolas: None. The responsibility for electoral arrangements for parish council reviews and petitions applications lies with the Electoral Commission. It is for them to determine any guidance on such arrangements.

Parish Councils

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what date the application for a parish council from the South Lathom Residents Association was submitted to his Department.

Phil Woolas: The petition for a parish council for Lathom South was sent to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by West Lancashire district council on 20 October 2003.

Pathfinder

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total estimated expenditure is on the Pathfinder programme.

Yvette Cooper: By end of March 2008 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will have invested £1.2 billion in housing market renewal grant. Funding beyond that will depend on the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Planning

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning applications for isolated houses in the countryside under the provisions of paragraph 11 of planning policy statement 7 have been referred to him as departures from the provisions of the development plan; how many have been called in by him for determination; and how many have been (a) approved and (b) refused.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 16 March 2006
	Since PPS7 was published, two cases have been referred to the First Secretary of State, both of which have been called-in:
	(a) In September 2004, the First Secretary of State called-in a proposal for an isolated dwelling in Coston, Leicestershire. In his decision letter of 13 March 2006, the First Secretary of State granted planning permission for this proposal; and
	(b) In December 2004, the First Secretary of State called-in a proposal for an isolated dwelling at Hurstbourne Priors Quarry, Hampshire. The inquiry into this case finished on 18 January 2006, and the proposal is currently under consideration by the Secretary of State. The statutory target for deciding this case is 10 May 2006.

Planning

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many appeals have been submitted to the planning inspectorate against the decision of a local planning authority to refuse planning permission for isolated houses in the countryside as provided for in planning policy statement 7; and how many of these have been allowed.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The information is not recorded centrally and cannot be provided without disproportionate costs.

Planning

John Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the revision of planning policy guidance has changed the situation with regard to gaining permission for the building of domestic units on former airfields.

Yvette Cooper: No. The proposed changes reflected in annex A of draft planning policy statement 3: 'Housing' (PPS3), published for consultation in December 2005, were not intended to affect the application of the definition of previously-developed land to former airfields. Specifically they do not seek to change policy in relation to the development of former airfield sites for housing.
	The consultation period for responses to draft PPS3 closed on 27 February. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will take into account consultation responses on this matter in finalising PPS3.

Planning

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what planning (a) guidance and (b) regulations apply to (i) building new schools and (ii) expanding existing schools.

Yvette Cooper: Decisions on planning applications are taken by the local planning authority in the first instance, having regard to relevant policies in the development plan in accordance with section 38(6) of the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act.
	There is a range of national planning guidance, principally set out in the Government's planning policy statements (PPS) and planning policy guidance notes (PPG), which may apply to the construction or expansion of schools in varying circumstances. For example, the policies in PPG2, 'Green Belts', will apply to schools in the green belt. More specifically, paragraph 27(v) of PPS1, 'Delivering Sustainable Development', advises planning authorities in preparing their development plans to seek to provide improved access for all to education, as well as to other services and facilities, by ensuring that new development is located where everyone can access these facilities without having to rely on the car. (PPS and PPG are available under the planning section of the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at www.odpm.gov.uk).
	The regulatory provisions in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and in relevant secondary planning legislation have a general applicability, including to school development. Part 32 of schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 1995 grants schools the right to expand floorspace by 10 per cent., in certain circumstances, without the need to submit a planning application.

Planning

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many hectares of previously developed land in the Thames Gateway are (a) available for building on and (b) expected to become available in the future.

Yvette Cooper: The information available is from the National Land Use Database of Previously-Developed Land. This shows a total of 2,790 hectares of previously-developed vacant or derelict land in the Thames Gateway policy area in 2004, and 4,510 hectares currently in use with planning permission or allocation in a local plan for redevelopment, or otherwise known to be available for redevelopment.

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he took the decision to postpone his Department's plans to consult on a code for sustainable buildings; and for what reasons.

Yvette Cooper: The consultation document on the code for sustainable homes was published as planned on 5 December 2005. Consultation closed on 6 March 2006.

Residential Accommodation (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has for tackling overcrowding in residential accommodation in Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Peterborough city council is addressing the issue of overcrowding in a number of ways: working with housing associations to provide more new affordable housing through the Housing Corporation's National Affordable Housing Programme, exploring the feasibility of bringing long-term empty houses back in to use and providing advice to residents on the most appropriate housing options available.
	The Government have doubled its investment in social housing from 1997 levels, and the Housing Corporation has taken steps to encourage investment in larger homes through its National Affordable Housing Programme. The full details of the Housing Corporation's programme of social housing investment over the next two years for every region will be announced shortly.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recognises that overcrowding causes serious problems for families. I announced on 8 March the Government's intention to consult this year on raising the statutory overcrowding standards, which were set in 1935. In addition the Government believes we need to build more homes across the board to tackle long-term pressures of overcrowding. The Government are supporting new homes for Peterborough.

Residential House Boats

Vincent Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he proposes to make a statement on the status of residential house boats following his recent public consultation on the options.

Yvette Cooper: We will publish our response to the representations made on the consultation paper about security of tenure for residential boats by 16 May 2006.

Right to Buy (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many right-to-buy completions there were in Peterborough in each year since 1996–97.

Yvette Cooper: The number of council houses sold in Peterborough under the right-to-buy scheme in each year since 1998–99 as reported by Peterborough can be found on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at:(http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/383/Table648Excel545Kb_idll56383.xls). Information is only available for the years shown.

Shared Home Ownership

John Leech: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to introduce a shared home ownership scheme for key workers outside the South East of England.

Yvette Cooper: The Key Worker Living programme is a specific scheme focused on helping key workers in London, the East and the South East of England and there are currently no plans to extend it. All regional housing boards were asked to advise Ministers on the allocation of resources to their region for the 2006–08 funding period including whether they would like to recommend allocating a percentage of their resources to specifically help key workers. Only London, the East and the South East have done so.
	However, from April 2006, key workers are one of the eligible groups for all other Government funded low cost home ownership schemes alongside social tenants, those on the housing register and priority first time buyers recommended by regional housing boards around the country. 50 per cent. of homes provided through the First Time Buyers Initiative, being delivered by English Partnerships, which includes areas outside the South East will also be available for key workers. Information on which Government funded low cost home ownership schemes can be accessed by key workers in each area will be available from the local zone agent, contact details for which will be available on ODPM's website www.odpm.gov.uk from April 2006.

Sustainable Buildings

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he expects the Code for Sustainable Buildings to be progressively incorporated into building regulations.

Yvette Cooper: The Code for Sustainable Homes will continue to be underpinned by building regulations and will form the basis for the next wave of improvements to building regulations.

Sustainable Buildings

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to facilitate the greater use of new materials, techniques and designs in new house building.

Yvette Cooper: Building Regulations are based on functional requirements which specify outcomes, not materials or processes. It is open to designers and builders to use different approaches to achieve compliance and adopt innovative materials, techniques and designs to meet the needs of specific projects.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also works with the house building and construction industry, and our agencies English Partnerships, Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and the Housing Corporation, to explore and facilitate development and greater take-up of new approaches where they have proved practicable. Examples include involvement in recent work by the Home Builders Federation to produce a report An examination of the barriers to greater use of modern methods of construction in the house building industry and the mechanisms to, overcome them", published earlier this month.
	With the Housing Corporation we have also worked with the National Audit Office to develop the evidence base on costs and benefits of different approaches to modern construction, and provide guidance to the industry on the best approach to their use. This report was published in November last year.
	The ODPM also encourages new approaches through demonstrations and competitions, such Design for Manufacture" which is challenging the industry to produce cost-effective homes without sacrificing quality. Later this year we will be publishing a document on the lessons learnt from the competition.

Telecommunications (Cambridgeshire)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) telecommunication base stations and (b) mobile phone masts have been located in (i) the parliamentary constituency of Peterborough and (ii) the county of Cambridgeshire in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, during September and October every year the mobile network operators write to every local authority with details of their network rollout for the year ahead. When they write to the local authority they also provide details of their existing sites within the local authority area. You may want to contact the network operators for copies of their plans.

Thames Gateway

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what data the Government collects on the proportion of types of new homes being built in the Thames Gateway.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) collects information on new build houses by tenure based upon building control data provided by local authorities and the National House-Building Council (NHBC). Local authority level information is published on the ODPM website.
	The NHBC data provide type and size of houses but these cover only a proportion of all dwellings built and estimates are published at regional level only.

Town and Country Planning Act

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the operation of the Town and Country Planning (Major Infrastructure Project Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2002;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received regarding enforcement of Circular 2002 Planning Inquiries for Major Infrastructure Projects procedures; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: On 24 August 2004, the 2002 rules were superseded by Statutory Instrument 2005 No.2115 Town and Country Planning (Major Infrastructure Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules. Supporting guidance was issued in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Circular 07/2005.
	Changes have been made to speed up the processes. The new procedure rules allow front loading of the procedures at pre-inquiry stage to enable major participants and the lead inspector to narrow down the issues which will need examination once the inquiry starts. There are improvements to inquiry procedures to allow stricter timetabling, round table sessions, reduced reading of proofs, better management by the inspectors of cross examination and for a team of inspectors to hear concurrent sessions instead of everything being dealt with sequentially in front of one inspector.

Town and Country Planning Act

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the operation of (a) section 100 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, (b) Article 20(5) of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 and (c) the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

Yvette Cooper: The Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has power, under s100 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to revoke or modify a planning permission granted by a local planning authority. Revocation or modification can only be made before a planning permission is implemented. However, the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister will generally use this power only if the original decision is judged to be grossly wrong, so that damage is likely to be done to the wider public interest.
	Article 20(5) of the Procedure Order gives people time to comment on planning applications received by the local planning authority. In most cases they have 21 days from the date when the authority publicises the application in order to make representations.
	The Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 provided the public and elected members with new rights of access to information about the policies and practices of local authorities and some other public bodies, in order to reinforce their accountability. It also opened up authorities' meetings to the public and the press.

Town and Country Planning Act

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the study commissioned by his Department, A Review of the Publicity Requirements for Planning Applications.

Yvette Cooper: Current publicity requirements for planning applications are explained in Circular 15/92, which is on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: www.odpm.gov.uk. There are no immediate plans to adopt the recommendations made by consultants Arup in the report to which the hon. Member refers.

Town and Country Planning Act

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the operation of the Town and Country Planning (Determination of Appeals by Appointed Persons) (Prescribed Classes) Regulations 1997.

Yvette Cooper: These regulations:
	prescribe the classes of appeal which are to be determined by persons appointed by the Secretary of State (in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 6 to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and Schedule 3 to the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990) instead of being determined by the Secretary of State;
	prescribe certain classes of case within those prescribed classes of appeal which are to continue to be determined by the Secretary of State;
	and provide for publication by local planning authorities of any direction made by the Secretary of State specifying classes of case within the prescribed classes of appeal which are to be determined by the Secretary of State.
	The Government will shortly consult on whether planning and enforcement appeals in relation to Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings continue to be determined by the Secretary of State in all cases, or by persons appointed by the Secretary of State in some cases.

Town and Country Planning Act

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the operation of Schedule 6 paragraph 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Yvette Cooper: Schedule 6 paragraph 3 sets out the provisions which allow the Secretary of State to recover appeals which would otherwise be dealt with by an inspector. The recovery criteria are set out in the Official Report, 25 July 2000 (column 594W). However, most planning appeals are transferred to the Planning Inspectorate for inspectors to decide on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Town and Country Planning Act

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the operation of the Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2000.

Yvette Cooper: These rules regulate the procedure to be followed in connection with local inquiries in England held by the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister before he determines applications referred to him, or appeals made to him, in relation to planning permission, listed building consent and consent for the demolition of unlisted buildings in conservation areas.

Unitary Development Plan

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many local planning authorities do not have in place an (a) adopted and (b) revised replacement unitary development plan.

Yvette Cooper: Under the old system of development plans, 72 local planning authorities had responsibility for the preparation of a unitary development plan; there is only one authority who is still working towards the adoption of its first unitary development plan.
	Of the 71 adopted unitary development plans, 37 made provision for the period up to 2001 and were not revised under the old development plan system. Of the remaining 34 plans, 20 make provision for the period up until 2006; five to 2011 and nine to 2016.
	The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (PCPA 2004) enables for the policies contained in adopted unitary development plans to be saved" for a period of at least three years from commencement of the Act or three years from the adoption of a unitary development plan if that is after commencement. The PCPA 2004 also makes the Regional Spatial Strategy part of the development plan which, together with the new local development framework (LDF) that includes the saved" unitary development plan policies, provides the framework for planning in local authority's area. All 72 authorities are now working up their LDFs.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 587W, 
	(1)  on the Valuation Office Agency, how many claims for compensation the Agency has received since 1997; and what the result of the claim was in each case;
	(2)  on the Valuation Office Agency, how many claims for compensation have been made against the Agency since May 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	Claims are extremely rare and no separate record is kept.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Valuation Office Agency spent on foreign visits in each year in the last five years; and if he will list the location and purpose of each foreign visit.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 28 February 2006, Official Report, column 685W.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 20 January 2006, Official Report, column 1699W, on the Valuation Office Agency, from what date the Valuation Office Agency has had access to data held in the National Register of Social Housing.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The Valuation Office Agency does not have direct access to the National Register of Social Housing (NRoSH) database. A list of addresses of properties on the National Register was supplied to the VOA, in electronic format, on 2 March 2005.

Wind Farms

Hywel Francis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he issues to local planning authorities on the siting of wind farms on or near (a) national parks and (b) areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend on 28 February 2006, Official Report, column 626W.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Dangerous/Careless Driving

Peter Bone: To ask the Solicitor-General what criteria are used by the Crown Prosecution Service in distinguishing between a case of (a) dangerous and (b) careless driving where someone is killed.

Mike O'Brien: Crown Prosecutors apply the Code for Crown Prosecutors in every case to decide if there is sufficient evidence of (a) dangerous driving or (b) careless driving. What amounts to sufficient evidence will vary according to the facts and circumstances of each case, and the fact of a death, while a very important factor, is not determinative of dangerousness or carelessness in any case. National charging standards exist to assist prosecutors to make consistent and appropriate decisions according to the evidence in each case.
	Dangerous driving can range from a prolonged and deliberate course of driving with disregard for safety of other road users to a single but serious misjudgment. Typically, careless driving will consist of more minor errors or misjudgements. In deciding between the offences, prosecutors must take into account the manner of the driving and the circumstances in which the driving took place when deciding how far the driving departed from the required standard. To prove a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, the law requires the prosecution to show that the driving fell far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver and it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in that way was dangerous. To prove careless driving it is necessary for the prosecution to establish that the driving fell below that of a reasonable, prudent and competent driver.

Magistrates Courts

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Solicitor-General when he will review the operation of magistrates courts with regard to delays in cases being heard by magistrates, with particular reference to Peterborough magistrates' court; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	Her Majesty's Court Service is working with the Crown Prosecution Service to improve arrangements so that cases in the magistrates courts are dealt with speedily and efficiently with just outcomes.
	The primary cause of delays at Peterborough is the increase in cases being brought to court. A strategy has been drawn up to handle the increasing workload at Peterborough which will include the assistance of a District Judge (magistrates courts) from April 2006.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Criminal Cases (Competitive Tendering)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 2045W, when she will publish the research into the impact on ethnic minorities of competitive tendering.

Harriet Harman: The report to which the hon. Member refers has not yet been finalised. The Legal Services Commission intends to publish it in due course.

Criminal Court (Salaried Defenders)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2006, Official Report, column 1005W, if she will place in the Library a copy of the PKF report prepared as part of Lord Carter's review.

Harriet Harman: The PKF report to Lord Carter of Coles, has not yet been completed. PKF is undertaking some further research in conjunction with Otterburn Legal Consultancy. The combined research will be published in due course.

Legal Aid

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2006, Official Report, column 1007W, if she will place in the Library a summary of the Frontier Economics research.

Harriet Harman: Frontier Economics is providing ongoing economic expertise to Lord Carter on a consultancy basis. Frontier has not undertaken any specific research as part of Lord Carter's independent review of legal aid procurement.

Parental Access

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many parents have court-ordered access arrangements that allow main contact with their children only (a) at weekends and (b) on Sundays.

Bridget Prentice: The IT systems in the courts do not allow for collection of details, which are entered in narrative form, on to each contact order, thus the Government cannot routinely collect data such as frequency and timing of contact as ordered by the courts.
	From the ONS Omnibus survey 2003, responses suggested that around 30 per cent. of contact arrangements ordered by the court resulted in direct contact at least once per week.
	The Government would like better data about what orders for contact are made, and the related issues of what parents seek from an order, what evidence is brought before the court and what arguments are employed in the decision making process. During the passage of the Children and Adoption Bill, the Government undertook to commission research on what happens between a contact case coming to court and a final order being made, including the frequency and duration of contact in the final order and any interim orders made. This project is now being commissioned and it is expected that it will take about 18 months to carry out.

Polling Stations

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many polling stations for local government elections in 2006 will be accessible for disabled people; and how many will be in (a) caravans and (b) other temporary structures.

Harriet Harman: This information is not held centrally. It is for the relevant local authority to designate their own polling stations, and to keep these under review to ensure that, as far as possible, they are accessible to the local community, including voters with disabilities.
	The Electoral Administration Bill will extend the duty to review polling places. Under clause 20, a local authority will have to carry out a full review at least every four years, and appeals can be made to the Electoral Commission.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Africa (Good Governance)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of (a) Mozambique, (b) Kenya, (c) Nigeria and (d) Angola regarding (i)good governance and (ii) corruption.

Ian Pearson: We maintain a close dialogue with Mozambique on good governance and corruption under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding governing cooperation between Mozambique and the group of 18 direct budget support donors. This sets out as key underlying principles a continuing commitment to democracy, good governance and the rule of law.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, discussed efforts to tackle corruption and promote good governance in Kenya with President Kibaki on 17 January 2006.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed a range of issues with President Obasanjo and other senior Nigerians during his visit to Nigeria 13–15 February, including issues of good governance and corruption.
	We also maintain a close dialogue with Angola on good governance and corruption, which includes its programme of activities to increase budgetary transparency, particularly in the area of oil revenue management.

Africa (Good Governance)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of (a) Equatorial Guinea, (b) Sao Tome", (c) Congo-Brazzaville, (d) Gabon and (e) Madagascar regarding (i) good governance and (ii) corruption.

Ian Pearson: Our outgoing non-resident ambassador to Equatorial Guinea made his farewell call on President Obiang on 5 December 2005, and they discussed governance issues, particularly in relation to electoral reform. We encourage the Government of Equatorial Guinea to take steps to tackle corruption within the country and to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
	Our non-resident ambassador to Sao Tome and Principe presented his credentials to President Fradique de Menezes on 5 December 2005, and discussed the conclusions of the Commission for Africa, which include promoting good governance and tackling corruption.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met President Sassou-Nguesso on 27 February 2006. They discussed the need to create an environment conducive for successful development in Africa. Our ambassador in Kinshasa, who is accredited to the Republic of Congo, works with EU partners to encourage the Congolese Government to address governance and corruption issues.
	Our ambassador designate to Gabon met the Gabonese ambassador in London in February 2006 and encouraged Gabon to pursue good governance, transparency and respect for human rights.
	Our former ambassador to Madagascar repeatedly promoted good governance and anti-corruption during his tenure, which ended in August 2005. Our ambassador-designate has not yet been invited to present his credentials to the Government of Madagascar.

Bangladesh

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Bangladesh Government on levels of politically-inspired violence; and if he will ensure the UK participates in monitoring elections there due at the end of the year.

Kim Howells: We maintain a regular dialogue with the Government of Bangladesh on political and extremist violence. I raised these issues in detail during my visit to Bangladesh in November 2005. On 7 March, I issued a statement, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House, welcoming the arrests of alleged extremist leaders including Siddiqul Islam, and Abdur Rahman and the need to deal with terrorism and extremism in a sustained and effective way while respecting human rights and the rule of law. I also discussed these developments with Saifur Rahman, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh in London on 8 March.
	More broadly, on the elections due in Bangladesh by January 2007, we continue to urge the Government and the opposition to engage in constructive dialogue on the key steps to ensure a level playing field, and free and fair and peaceful elections with full participation. The Government of Bangladesh welcome international election monitoring and we are considering with EU partners an EU election observation mission to Bangladesh and other potential assistance.

Chechnya

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports of mass poisonings at schools in the Shelkovsk district of Chechnya.

Douglas Alexander: The exact causes of the illness affecting a number of children and adults in Chechnya remain unclear. There is insufficient verifiable information to make an independent assessment of the situation. Russian Press reports refer to 93 cases, mostly in schoolgirls from Shelkovsk but some also in Grozny and Urus Martan. They have displayed a variety of symptoms, particularly neurological, spasms and fits, and respiratory, breathing difficulties and nosebleeds. The Russian authorities have sent experts in toxicology and forensic psychiatry from Moscow to the region. They consider that those affected are suffering from a form of hysteria associated with the extreme and chronic stress of the Chechen conflict and its aftermath. Some non-governmental organisations in the region assess there is a toxic cause. We understand that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has experience of a similar incident involving Albanian schoolchildren in Macedonia in 2002. After investigating that incident they found no evidence of poisoning and concluded that a form of mass hysteria was a plausible explanation. The WHO has not been asked for assistance in this case but remains in contact with the Chechen authorities. We continue to monitor these cases closely.

Chechnya

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the appointment of Ramzan Kadyrov as prime minister of Chechnya; and what assessment he has made of the implications of the appointment for (a) the transition to democracy and (b) respect for human rights.

Douglas Alexander: Ramzan Kadyrov's appointment raises concerns in light of reports that Chechen security forces under his control have committed human rights abuses in Chechnya. This is an issue we have raised with the Russian authorities both in bilateral and EU/Russia human rights consultations, most recently during the latest round of the EU/Russia consultations in Vienna on 3 March. Ramzan Kadyrov's appointment followed soon after the visit to the region, in February this year, of UN high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour. Following that visit, President Putin confirmed to high commissioner Arbour Russia's readiness to put into practice her recommendations, including those on the situation in the North Caucasus. Given the influential role of the Federal authorities in Moscow in Chechen affairs and political appointments, we would want to see this commitment positively influencing Mr. Kadyrov's premiership, both in terms of respect for human rights and the strengthening of democratic institutions.

Child Trafficking

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of India regarding tackling (a) child trafficking and (b) the child sex industry.

Kim Howells: The most recent discussions with the Indian Government on the issue of child trafficking were held when the UK, as presidency of the European Union, raised this issue during discussions on child labour during a human rights dialogue with Indian Government officials in Delhi on 1 December.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded a National Criminal Intelligence Service Foundation course in understanding child sex offenders for Indian police and non-governmental organisations working on child rights. The course took place in February 2006 in Goa, Maharashtra State.

Democratic Republic of Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on the security situation in Democratic Republic of Congo of militia activity associated with the cross-border conflict with Rwanda; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The security situation remains fragile in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularly in Ituri and the Kivus. The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC has carried out joint operations with Congolese military to disrupt the activities of foreign armed groups, including Rwandan Hutu militias. But these groups continue to persecute civilians. There are no recent indications of cross-border conflict with Rwanda or any of the DRC's neighbours.
	We continue to urge regional governments to work together to resolve the issue of the foreign armed groups and to respect all states' territorial integrity. The recent UN Security Council Resolution 1653 reinforced this message. And the US-facilitated Tripartite Plus mechanism provides a forum for disputes to be resolved diplomatically.

Ecuadorian Airspace

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) members and (b) representatives of the governments of (i) Ecuador and (ii) Colombia concerning the alleged incursions by Colombian military planes into Ecuadorian airspace since November 2005; what assessment his Department has made of the implications; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We are aware of the incidents in question. Our ambassador in Bogota discussed the alleged incursions by Colombian military planes into Ecuadorian airspace with the Colombian Minister of Defence at the time of the incident. The Colombians informed us that they intended to investigate the alleged incursions. Our embassy in Quito has not discussed this issue with the Ecuadorian Government. We consider this to be a bilateral issue between the two governments and hope that, in the interest of preserving regional stability, they will be able to resolve the matter amicably.

EU Flag

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what (a) circumstances and (b) rules the EU flag is flown from official UK diplomatic premises in (i) EU member states and (ii) non-EU countries; and in what ways the relevant rules or guidance have been amended over the last 10 years.

Douglas Alexander: Our overseas missions may fly the EU flag at their discretion, but only alongside the British diplomatic, consular or, in Commonwealth countries, Union flag with the British flag having precedence, and only where circumstances (e.g. local custom and protocol) permit.
	Last year, before the UK's EU presidency, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued guidance to our overseas missions on flying the EU flag during the presidency. UK missions in EU countries were asked to fly the EU flag, but only where the existence of a second flag pole allowed it to be flown alongside the Union flag. UK missions in non-EU countries were encouraged to fly the EU flag where local circumstances permitted.
	In 2004, guidance was issued decreeing that, where flown, the EU flag would be half-masted whenever the Union flag was half-masted.

Forced Sterilisations (India)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with the Government of India on forced sterilisations in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Officehave not held any recent discussions with the Government of India on this issue. However, the India country office of the Department for International Development had discussions with the Government of India on population stabilisation issues in February 2006, in the context of the multi-donor review mission of the Reproductive and Child Health Programme, phase-2.
	India is currently a member of the Commission on the Status of Women and has signed the Convention to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. The Convention is the only human rights treaty, which affirms the reproductive rights of women. Under the convention India has an international obligation to promote this issue.

G8

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of the case for expanding the G8 to include India.

Kim Howells: Invitations to non-G8 leaders to attend G8 summits are made at the discretion of the rotating Presidency. As part of outreach at the Gleneagles summit, the UK invited the Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to discuss the global economy and climate change.

Guatemala

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that death squads are operating in Guatemala.

Douglas Alexander: The Human Rights situation in Guatemala has improved since the 36-year civil war was brought to a close in 1996 by the Peace Accords. However, we have serious concerns about growing organised crime, the activities of gangs, called maras, and the impact of these developments on the human rights situation in the country. Our embassy in Guatemala City works closely with human rights organisations to substantiate reports of human rights abuses. We actively raise awareness of cases with the Guatemalan authorities, particularly attacks on human rights defenders and the increasing violence against women. We press for all incidents to be investigated thoroughly.

Human Trafficking

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the use of Osh as a transit hub for human traffickers in Central Asia; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We read with concern a report in April 2005 by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on People Trafficking in Central Asia which suggested that Osh, in Kyrgyzstan, appeared to be a focal point for human trafficking in the region. Given the clandestine nature of human trafficking, it is difficult to identify with certainty the routes used by human traffickers, but the limited evidence available to us does not point to trafficking from Central Asia being a problem that directly affects the UK. Nonetheless we deplore this vile crime wherever it takes place and we will continue to work with EU partners and others to combat it.

Indonesia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has taken recent action to urge the Government of Indonesia (a) not to execute and (b) to release (i) Fabianus Tibo, (ii) Dominggus Da Silva and (iii)Marinus Riwu; and if the Government will seek a demarche by the European Union to the Indonesian Government on the issue.

Ian Pearson: On 14 November 2005, as EU President, we approached the Government of Indonesia to express the EU's regret at the decision to carry out the executions, and asked them to refrain from carrying out the executions and to consider the abolition of the death penalty.
	In January there were three further EU de"marches, with the Minister of Law and Human Rights, with the Attorney-General, and in a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
	We will continue to press the EU to look for further opportunities to raise this matter with the Indonesian Government.

Iran

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by his Department to engage with the democratic opposition in Iran.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and our embassy in Tehran maintain contact with a wide range of Iranians in many different fields. We are seriously concerned about human rights and political freedoms in Iran. Ministers and officials raise our concerns frequently with the Iranian authorities. We also take action through the EU, and in United Nations fora. We maintain a dialogue with those inside and outside the Iranian Government who are working to support reform and the rule of law. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in a speech at the International Institute of Strategic Studies on 13 March,
	We will not take sides in Iran's internal political debates—these are for Iranians to resolve and they are perfectly capable of doing so themselves. Given their history, Iranians are understandably sensitive about any hint of outside interference. But this does not mean that we should stop standing up for principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms which we hold dear to ourselves and which so many Iranians aspire to: freedom of speech; transparent, genuinely democratic and accountable government; respect for the rights of minorities and women; an independent judiciary".
	Ministers and officials have no contact with an organisation proscribed under the Terrorism Act, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), which purports to be a democratic opposition movement, nor with the National Council for the Resistance of Iran, a group with which it has close links. The MEK has been responsible for numerous attacks resulting in many deaths. Its claims to be a democratic party are hard to square with a history of violence and its authoritarian nature, and it has virtually no support inside Iran.

Iran

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Saudi Government concerning the security situation in Iran.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has frequently discussed Iran and the regional security situation with Saudi interlocutors, including when he met His Royal Highness Prince Saud on 17 January.

Iraq

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that paramilitary troops are carrying out torture and executions in Iraq with the consent of the Interior Ministry.

Kim Howells: We are aware of these reports and have raised our serious concerns with the Iraqi authorities at the highest levels. They have confirmed their commitment to the observance of human rights in Iraq, that such practices are contrary to Iraqi Government policy and that they are investigating. We are working with the Iraqi Government and international partners to develop respect for human rights through capacity building and awareness programmes. Helping to prevent further abuse is integral to our training of the security forces in Iraq.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what checks were made to ensure that the export of 20,878 semi-automatic pistols to Iraq referred to in the Second Quarterly Strategic Export Controls Report 2004 was consistent with Criterion Seven of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports;
	(2)  what checks were made to ensure that the export of 20,878 semi-automatic pistols to Iraq referred to in the Second Quarterly Strategic Export Controls Report 2004 was consistent with the UN Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts, Components and Ammunition.

Kim Howells: holding answer 17 March 2006
	In accordance with our normal practice, this licence application was judged on its merits against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the 2000 consolidation of the UK's 1997 national export licensing criteria and the 1998 EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports) taking into account prevailing circumstances at the time and other relevant announced Government policies.
	The licence was issued following the conclusion that it would not contravene any of the criteria.
	Criterion One provides that the Government will not issue an export licence where to do so would be inconsistent with the UK's international obligations and commitments, which include the UN Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts, Components and Ammunition.
	Criterion Seven requires the Government to consider whether there is a risk that the equipment will be diverted within the buyer country or re-exported under undesirable conditions.

Iraq

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department's investigations into the meeting held in Baghdad in January 2003 between the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) and Dr. Rihab Taha will be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I am aware of media reports relating to the meeting referred to by the hon. Member. However, you will be aware that the Government have a longstanding policy of not commenting on intelligence matters alleged or otherwise.

Jericho Prison

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he made the decision to put into effect the threat contained in the letter from the UK and US Consuls General to withdraw UK monitors from Jericho Prison.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made the decision on 8 March that a letter should be sent to President Abbas informing him of our intention to withdraw the monitors with immediate effect unless the conditions noted in the letter were met. The Consul General in Jerusalem called the President's office on four separate occasions after delivering the letter to allow an opportunity for a response. As none was forthcoming, the monitors withdrew at a time judged to provide the greatest security to our monitors.

Jericho Prison

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US Secretary of State since December 2005 regarding the possibility of withdrawing US and UK monitors from Jericho Prison.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with the US Secretary of State since December 2005, regarding the possibility of withdrawing. Communication between the US and UK was carried out at official level.

Jericho Prison

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the Ramallah Agreement concerning the ending of the siege of the Palestinian presidential compound and the detention of prisoners to Jericho Prison was signed by (a) representatives of the Government of Israel and (b) representatives of the Palestinian Authority.

Kim Howells: The Ramallah Agreement was agreed by the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority on 30 April 2002. The actual document is unsigned.

Jericho Prison

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he received in the three weeks leading up to 14 March of Israeli military preparations in connection with the situation at Jericho prison.

Kim Howells: We received no reports of Israeli military preparations. The location of the prison allowed it to be observed by Israeli defence forces, who would have been able to monitor activity including when the monitors left the prison. The Israeli authorities were aware of our letter dated 8 March, which noted that we would have to withdraw our monitors with immediate effect if our conditions were not met.

Jericho Prison

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether a deadline was given to President Abbas to respond to the letter of 8 March 2006 from the UK and UK consuls general.

Kim Howells: There was no deadline provided in the letter of 8 March, as it would have increased the security risk to our monitors. The letter noted that we would have to withdraw with immediate effect if our conditions were not met. Our consul general in Jerusalem called President Abbas's office on four separate occasions to ensure that the contents of the letter had been understood, before we withdrew on 14 March.
	On 15 December 2005, our Deputy Head of Mission in Jerusalem informed Rafiq Husseini, in the President's Office, that if, at any stage, we felt that the threat to our monitors was too great, we would withdraw them.

Kenya

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Kenya regarding (a) press freedom, (b) the intimidation of journalists and newspapers and (c) the observance of democratic values;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of (a) reports of an attack by Kenyan security personnel on the offices of the Standard Media Group and (b) the implications of the attack for the entrenchment of democratic values in Kenya.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Ms Keeble) on 8 March 2006, Official Report, column 1567W.
	Since the police raids on the Standard media group on 2 March, we have been actively engaged in a number of discussions with the Kenyan Government to express our continuing concern over the attacks and their repercussions for freedom of expression and democratic values in Kenya. 26 nations, including the UK, publicly condemned the raids in a statement issued on 2 March.
	The Government of Kenya has yet to give a credible account of the events of 2 March. This is needed to reassure the Kenyan people that there will be no recurrence and that the Government remains committed to supporting a free press, within a vibrant democratic society. We continue to make our views known, both privately and publicly.

Libya

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Libya regarding (a) the position of women within society, (b) gender equality and (c) the treatment of victims of rape and sexual violence.

Kim Howells: The UK has discussed with Libya, in the early part of 2005, the role of women in the work force in Libya, and as part of the assistance the UK is providing in the area of prison management, we are addressing the needs of women in prison. The UK has not raised issues of gender equality and the treatment of victims of rape and sexual violence, but we continue to encourage the Libyan authorities to improve the human rights situation in Libya. We welcome the fact that non-governmental organisations, including Human Rights Watch, have been able to visit Libya to discus these and other issues with the authorities.

Pakistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Pakistan regarding (a) repeal of the Hudood law and (b) the treatment of rape victims by the justice system.

Kim Howells: In December 2005, as EU President, wepresented a de"marche on human rights to the Government of Pakistan. The de"marche called for the repeal or modification of the Hudood laws, to prevent victims of rape from being wrongly accused of adultery, and significantly improve their ability for access to justice.
	We were encouraged by the Federal Shariah Court's announcement in February 2006 that rape victims should not be tried for adultery, and by the government's recent pledge to repeal the Hudood laws. Our high commission in Islamabad continues to raise this issue regularly.

Ramallah Agreement

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the Ramallah Agreement in English.

Kim Howells: A copy of the Ramallah Agreement in English was placed in the Library of the House on 15 March.

Ramallah Agreement

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the responsibilities under the Ramallah Agreement of (a) Israel and (b) the Palestinian Authority.

Kim Howells: A copy of the Ramallah Agreement in English was placed in the Library of the House on 15 March. It makes clear that the Palestinian Authority was responsible for the safety of our monitors.

Rendition

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his written statement of 20 January 2006, Official Report, column38WS, whether the UK requires the US to seek permission to render detainees via UK territory and airspace, including overseas territories.

Kim Howells: Yes. We would expect the US authorities to seek permission to render detainees via UK territory and airspace, including overseas territories, and we will grant permission only if we are satisfied that the rendition would accord with UK law and our international obligations.

Royal Nepalese Army Barracks

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the (a) conditions under which detainees are held inside Royal Nepalese Army barracks and (b) access to the Royal Nepalese Army barracks afforded to monitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: In the week commencing 6 March, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced it would resume visits to Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) barracks. The ICRC had previously suspended these for about a year after the RNA had not given ICRC officers unhindered access. We assess that access to RNA detention is now satisfactory.
	While the RNA has reduced the number of detainees, their conditions remain poor. The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights visits found conditions that amount to degrading and inhuman treatment. This remains of serious concern.

Sri Lanka

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) members and (b) representatives of the government of Sri Lanka concerning their talks with Tamil Eelam in Geneva scheduled for mid April; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on 13 March. I met him on 15 March. We welcomed the first round of talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the Ceasefire Agreement and the agreement to hold further talks in Geneva from 19–21 April. The Foreign Minister agreed with us on the importance of all parties fully meeting the commitments that they made at Geneva, essentially to respect and uphold the Ceasefire Agreement, and fully co-operate with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission; to take all necessary measures to ensure no intimidation, acts of violence, abductions or killings; the LTTE to take all necessary measures to ensure no acts of violence against the security forces and police; the Government of Sri Lanka to take all necessary measures in accordance with the Ceasefire Agreement to ensure that no armed group or person other than Government security forces will carry arms or conduct armed operations.
	We hope that the series of talks in Geneva can progress sufficiently well to allow early discussion of longer term issues. A permanent settlement is essential to establish a durable peace in Sri Lanka that meets the aspirations of all communities while ensuring a democratic and stable Sri Lanka. A key requirement will be for the LTTE to change course; to end terrorism and violence for good and to commit themselves to respecting human rights and freedom of expression in the areas they control.
	We continue to strongly support the work of the Norwegian facilitators.

Sri Lanka

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the actions of Colonel Karuna in eastern Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The activities of the so-called Karuna faction are a destabilising factor in eastern Sri Lanka. Their violence is no more acceptable than that of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam's (LTTE). It is important for the maintenance of the current ceasefire that their operations and those of all other armed groups cease. I welcome the Government of Sri Lanka's important commitment at talks with the LTTE in Geneva in February to taking all necessary measures to prevent armed groups operating.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the UN to introduce sanctions against those suspected of committing crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Ian Pearson: UN Security Council Resolution 1591 provides for the imposition of travel bans and assets freezes on individuals involved in the Darfur crisis who have committed violations of international law and other atrocities, or who impede the peace process. We are pressing for swift action by the UN Sudan Sanctions Committee to impose such sanctions. Targeted sanctions against individuals will come into force with immediate effect when the UN Sanctions Committee decides to impose them. There should be no impunity for those who violate human rights or impede the peace process in Sudan.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of statements by Jan Pronk regarding the deployment of troops from NATO countries to Darfur, with particular reference to his comments regarding Islamic terrorism.

Ian Pearson: NATO, through airlift co-ordination and training, is making a valuable contribution to the African Union's Mission in Sudan. We believe that NATO should continue to do so, and see no objection to troops from NATO countries participating in any future UN force in the Sudan.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Governments of (a) China, (b) Russia and (c) India regarding (i) human rights and conflict in and (ii) the trade in oil from Sudan.

Ian Pearson: We have regular discussions on the conflict in Sudan and human rights with Russia, China and other partners in the United Nation Security Council (UNSC). In his report on Sudan of 20 December 2005, the UN Secretary General called upon Sudan to ensure full transparency of the oil sector as a priority for 2006. This report was discussed by the UNSC on 13 January 2006. At the Sudan Consortium meeting of donors in Paris on 9–10 March the international community, including the UK, pressed the Government of Sudan to sign up to the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative. The Government of Sudan expressed their interest in doing so, and committed to improving transparency in the oil sector by publishing detailed information on oil production, revenues and transfers to the treasury. We will work with Sudan to ensure this happens. We have not held any recent discussions with India on Sudan.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Russia regarding the (a) sale of arms to Sudan and (b) implications of such sales for peace and human rights in Darfur.

Ian Pearson: UN Security Council Resolution 1591 extended the UN arms embargo on Darfur to cover all parties to the conflict, including the Government of Sudan. The UK believes that the arms embargo should be expanded to cover the whole of Sudan, in line with the EU arms embargo that has been in place since 1994. We have held regular discussions on this subject with Russia and our other Security Council partners, and will continue to take discussions on this forward in the Security Council.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the forced closure of the Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO) in Zallingei and Geneina, West Darfur and the suspension of all humanitarian efforts there; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government of Sudan issued notice to the Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO) to suspend its work in West Darfur on 11 March 2006. This case was raised at a meeting on 13 March between the Government of Sudan and the international community, including the UK, on human rights. The UN have subsequently made formal representations to the Government of Sudan on this issue.
	We have consistently made clear to the Government of Sudan that humanitarian agencies must be given unimpeded access to conduct their work. My right hon.Friend the Secretary of State for International Development discussed the issue of humanitarian access with the Government of Sudan during his visit to Sudan on 21–23 February. We will continue to follow this case closely.

Torture (China/Tibet)

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the preliminary report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on his visit to China and Tibet.

Ian Pearson: We strongly supported the visit to China by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in November 2005. We welcomed the preliminary assessment of the Special Rapporteur's visit in a UN press release on 2 December 2005, and look forward to publication of his full report in the near future. The press release can be found on the UN website at: http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/677C 1943FAA14D67C12570 CB0034966D?opendocument. The Government agree with the Special Rapporteur's assessment that torture in China, though on the decline, particularly in urban areas, remains widespread and that this is increasingly recognised by Chinese officials. We hope the Chinese Government will consider carefully the Rapporteur's recommendations when they issue with a view to making a wholehearted effort to implement them.

Torture (China/Tibet)

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will table a resolution on torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners and detainees in Tibet and China at the forthcoming Session of the UN Commission for Human Rights.

Ian Pearson: The Government remain concerned about torture and the inhumane treatment of prisoners in China and Tibet. We regularly raise these concerns with the Chinese authorities, including through the UK- and EU- China Human Rights Dialogues. With uncertainty over the exact format of the Commission on Human Rights this year, it is not clear what scope there will be for consideration of this issue at the Commission. However, we continue to look for appropriate opportunities to raise our concerns with the Chinese authorities.

Uzbekistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the charges used to convict Mutabar Tojibayeva in Tashkent; what discussions he has had with (a) members and (b) representatives of the Government of Uzbekistan concerning this incident; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The UK and our EU partners have closely followed the detention and prosecution of Ms Mutabar Tojibayeva. Our ambassador in Tashkent has regularly raised her case and others, including those of Sanjar Umarov and Nodira Khidoyatova, at official and ministerial level, both bilaterally and while the UK held the presidency of the EU. On 17 January 2006, we supported a demarche by the local EU presidency seeking clarification on the welfare of Ms Tojibayeva.
	We joined EU partners in observing her trial which finished on 6 March 2006. We welcomed the access given to these court proceedings, but the process and outcome do little to dispel the widely held belief that this and other recent cases were politically motivated.
	On 9 March 2006, we joined our EU colleagues in a statement urging the Uzbek authorities to review the convictions and ensure a fair trial with access to national and international observers.

Uzbekistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of recent arrests and detentions of opposition and human rights activists in Uzbekistan; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Since May 2005 we have witnessed a programme of detention and harassment of those, including human rights defenders, journalists and others, who have questioned the authorities' version of events in Andizhan.
	I am deeply concerned by the sentences passed recently on Sanjar Umarov, Mutabar Tojibayeva and Nodira Khidoyatova, as well as other moves against civil society, including the closure of several international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) during the past year. In addition to the restrictive measures introduced against Uzbekistan by the EU in October last year under our presidency, we also supported the resolution in the United Nations General Assembly in November 2005, highlighting the deterioration in the human rights situation in Uzbekistan. We have made numerous representations both bilaterally and with our EU partners on the situation as a whole and individual cases.
	I strongly urge the Uzbek authorities to allow, in conformity with Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe principles and commitments, individual human rights defenders and NGOs to make their full contribution to the development of civil society and to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Uzbekistan.

Visas (Pakistan/India/Bangladesh)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what the average processing times were for (a) non-settlement and (b) settlement visa applications at each office in (i)Pakistan, (ii) India and (iii) Bangladesh in the last period for which figures are available.

Kim Howells: The figures for processing times at each visa section in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, as per UKvisas' public service agreements are as follows. These statistics are for the last quarter of 2005.
	
		Percentage
		
			 Visa section Straightforward non-settlement applications processed within 24 hours Non-settlement applications requiring further inquiries or interview processed within 15 days Settlement applications processed within 12 weeks (but please see notes for Islamabad, New Delhi and Dhaka) 
		
		
			 Islamabad 62.7 100 (25)100 
			 Karachi 95.6 97 100 
			 New Delhi 100 93 (25)100 
			 Mumbai 98 94 100 
			 Chennai 95 100 100 
			 Kolkata 100 100 100 
			 Dhaka 100 100 (25)100 
		
	
	(25)The target of 12 weeks does not apply to visa sections in Islamabad, New Delhi and Dhaka which receive a large number of settlement applications. At these posts, settlement applications are separated into four queues, for which figures are as follows.
	
		Percentage
		
			 Visa section Right of Abode claimants, dependent relatives over 65 and special compassionate case processed within three months Spouses and children under 18 processed within three months Fiance"(e)s and other settlement categories processed within six months Settlement re-applicants processed within nine months 
		
		
			 Islamabad 100 100 100 100 
			 New Delhi 100 100 100 100 
			 Dhaka 100 100 100 none received

Visas (Pakistan/India/Bangladesh)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa applications were (a) made and (b) processed in (i)Pakistan, (ii) India and (iii) Bangladesh in each year since 2002.

Kim Howells: The number of visa applications received, issued and refused by our missions in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh since 2002 are as follows. UKvisas' published statistics are for the financial year, not the calendar year.
	
		
			   Pakistan India Bangladesh 
		
		
			 2002–03 Applications received 74,043 236,431 29,637 
			  Entry clearance issued 52,632 196,693 21,504 
			  Entry clearance refused 10,173 39,642 10,658 
			 2003–04 Applications received 122,900 300,452 39,090 
			  Entry clearance issued 93,982 240,306 21,748 
			  Entry clearance refused 21,775 58,635 11,914 
			 2004–05 Applications received 190,539 344,764 42,568 
			  Entry clearance issued 102,951 280,537 20,837 
			  Entry clearance refused 81,643 72,904 19,153 
			 2005–06(26) Applications received 156,171 351,890 35,508 
			  Entry clearance issued 87,787 275,915 19,542 
			  Entry clearance refused 61,252 69,360 14,408 
		
	
	(26)The figures for 2005–2006 are from April to February. These figures are not UKvisas' published figures, but are collected from the visa central reference system. UKvisas makes every effort to ensure that statistics produced from the central reference system are accurate. However, the complexity of our global business, including technical failures or occasional inconsistencies in data entry across any of over 150 offices, means we cannot 100 per cent. guarantee accuracy.

Visas (Pakistan/India/Bangladesh)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what periods since 2002each visa office in (a) Pakistan, (b) India and (c) Bangladesh was not able to accept visa applications for (i) students, (ii) first-time visitors under 25 years and (iii) working holiday makers.

Kim Howells: Visa services were suspended at our high commission in Islamabad and deputy high commission in Karachi in May 2002 due to the regional crisis. A limited visa service was re-opened in June 2002, firstly for urgent cases. The service was then gradually re-opened to students, applicants for settlement visas and visitors who had previously travelled to the UK in the previous five years and complied with the terms of their visas. The last category to re-open in Pakistan was first time visitors under 30 in May 2004, but due to capacity constraints this category was closed in July 2004, with a lowered age restriction of 25 with the exception of family visits. This category was re-opened in August 2005 after the Memorandum of Understanding on Managed Immigration was signed with Pakistan. Working holiday makers have not been able to apply in Pakistan since May 2002. My noble Friend, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, will write to my hon. Friend with fuller details of the restrictions in Pakistan following the 2002 crisis.
	Most staff at our missions in New Delhi and Mumbai were evacuated in May 2002 for the same reason as in Pakistan. However, a skeleton staff remained and applications were accepted from those who had previously travelled to the UK and in emergency cases. From mid July 2002, student applications were accepted and a normal service resumed in August 2002. Chennai's visa service was closed to all applicants from 21 to 30 May 2005 as the deputy high commission moved offices. However, entry clearance applications were still accepted through the outsourced visa facilitation services and were sent to New Delhi for processing.
	Since 2002, there have been no restrictions on the visa service in Bangladesh.

Western Shoshone People

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) members and (b) representatives of the US Administration concerning the treatment of (i) the Western Shoshone people, (ii)Western Shoshone land and (iii) Western Shoshone livestock; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not made any representations to the US Administration on these issues.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

School Funding (North Yorkshire)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on funding for schools in North Yorkshire for 2006–07.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to my statement of 7 December 2005, which set out the arrangements for school funding for North Yorkshire and all other local authorities in England. Further details may be found on the Teachernet website at:
	www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/schoolfunding/2006–07_funding_arrangements/

A-levels

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the compulsory requirements are for a student undertaking an A-level course of study.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 16 March 2006
	There are no compulsory requirements for students undertaking an A-level course of study. However, schools and colleges do set minimum requirements for 16–19 year olds embarking on A-level programmes to ensure that they will cope with the programme.

Care Leavers

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support services relating to the financial and practical aspects of independent living are available to young people leaving care in Essex.

Maria Eagle: Services to care leavers who are the responsibility of Essex county council are provided directly by the local authority through its Leaving and After Care Service, which is part of the Children and Young People's Service. The service operates four local teams, based in Colchester, Chelmsford, Harlow and Rochford. They comprise personal advisers (PAs) who are responsible for planning and providing support for all individual care leavers for whom Essex has a responsibility. There is, in addition, a county-wide Accommodation Team which has the remit of providing accommodation to meet care leavers' specific needs, ensuring that any accommodation they are allocated has the necessary support, to enable young people to develop their independent living skills.
	Every care leaver is required to have a pathway plan, which is based on an assessment of their personal needs, setting out the services that will be necessary to support them towards greater independence. The exact level of financial support provided to any care leaver will be recorded in this plan. Up until the age of 18, the local authority will usually be his/her primary source of income. Essex, as is the case for other local authorities, is responsible for funding accommodation, maintenance and other expenses (e.g. travel and leisure costs). Once care leavers reach 18, they are then entitled to have access to the same mainstream arrangements for obtaining financial help as other young people. It is the personal adviser's role to assist them to access this help. However, Essex, as the responsible local authority, has a continuing duty to provide assistance, for as long as they remain in an approved programme, with the costs of education or training.

Child Protection

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer to question 47462 on school bus drivers, how many bus drivers are included on List 99; whether bus drivers have been permitted to carry on working with children following convictions for sexual offences against minors; and what measures are in place to check taxi and minicab drivers who drive special needs children to school.

Maria Eagle: The Department does not hold the detail of how many bus drivers are on List 99. The Department for Education and Skills' guidance to local authorities on home to school transport arrangements for children with special educational needs states that criminal record checks are essential for escorts, and, where they are in sole charge of children, for taxi drivers and minicab drivers.
	The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill includes a requirement for bus drivers, taxi drivers, minicab drivers, and escorts who care for, or have a supervisory role over children, to be checked.

Child Protection

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's policy is on employing persons on (a) the Register of Sex Offenders and (b) List 99 in jobs involving working with children.

Ruth Kelly: My statement and accompanying report to Parliament on 19 January outlined the Government's analysis of, and response to, issues concerning child protection and List 99 together with the action we are currently taking. A further update on progress was provided on 1 March.

Child Protection

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she takes to ensure that individuals on List 99 are informed of their inclusion on the list; what estimate she has made of the number of individuals who are included on List 99 who are not aware of their inclusion; and in what circumstances an individual can be removed from List 99.

Ruth Kelly: Individuals included on List 99 are informed of their inclusion by means of a letter. Further detail on the procedures followed can be found in the guidance on 'Child Protection: Procedures for Barring or Restricting People Working with Children in Education' available on the DfES website at www.Teachernet.gov.uk/barringprocedures. Any prospective employer should undertake the necessary pre-appointment checks before employing an individual. This would include checking List 99.
	You will find detail of the circumstances in which an individual can appeal against inclusion on List 99 in 'A guide to the appeals process and procedures of the Care Standards Tribunal' which can be found on the Care Standards website at www.carestandardstribunal.gov.uk. In addition the terms by which appeals can be heard are detailed in the report laid before The House of Commons on 19 January 2006 by the Secretary of State at paragraphs 15–18 which can be found at: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/educationoverview/briefing/news/

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the review of the criteria for inclusion on List 99.

Ruth Kelly: I have already announced that I will review the decision-making processes surrounding such cases and any immediate policy implications including how the closest possible alignment can be secured between List 99, the Sex Offenders Register and other data sources.
	Following the Bichard Report the Government are already committed to implementing Sir Michael Bichard's recommendations to tighten the system for vetting and barring those who wish to work with children and vulnerable adults and to bringing forward legislation in this session of Parliament.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have been taken off List 99 in each of the last 10 years.

Ruth Kelly: We do not hold information for the last 10 years.
	The numbers removed from List 99 include individuals originally placed on List 99 for a range of reasons, including in relation to a person's health, on the grounds of misconduct, on the grounds of unsuitability, Protection of Children Act cases, disqualification orders, cases concluded in Northern Ireland or Scotland and abeyance cases. The vast majority have been removed through death or old age.
	
		Number removed from List 99
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 147 
			 2002 66 
			 2003 87 
			 2004 48 
			 2005 174 
		
	
	Further information about the arrangements for including and removing people from List 99 is given in my statement of 19 January.

Education Maintenace Allowance (West Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in West Lancashire constituency have received the education maintenance allowance.

Maria Eagle: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate Education Maintenance Allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 14 February 2006
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked how many students have claimed education maintenance allowance in West Lancashire in each year it has been available; and how many she estimates will claim it in 2006–07?"
	Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received EMA is available at local authority level, but not at constituency level. The information relates to academic years.
	During the academic year 2004/05, 7,081 young people in Lancashire Local Education Authority received one or more EMA payments. During the academic year 2005/06, 9,638 young people have received one or more EMA payments so far (as at 31pa
	December).
	Forecasts of EMA take-up at a national level have recently been revised to reflect better input data and assumptions. However, due to the complexities involved in producing forecasts at sub-national level, comparable forecasts for the academic year 2006/07 and beyond at LEA level are not available until spring 2006.
	I hope this information is helpful and addresses your question. If you would like further details please contact Chris Bradley at the LSC National Office on 0114 207 4512 or christopher bradley@lsc.gov.uk

Children in Care

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made towards ensuring that by 2008 80 per cent. of children under 16 years who have been looked after for two and a half or more years will have been living in the same placement for at least two years, or are placed for adoption.

Maria Eagle: Performance at national level against this measure was as follows.
	
		
			 Year to March Percentage 
		
		
			 2003 63 
			 2004 65 
			 2005 65 
		
	
	This data is published by the Department for Education and Skills and can be accessed at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000615/index.shtml

Classrooms

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many classrooms in schools have been built under private finance initiative schemes; what the size is of each new classroom; what guidance she has issued on the minimum size of classroom; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The Department does not hold information specifically on the number or size of new classrooms in PFI schools. We produce non-statutory guidance on the overall size of schools and of individual classrooms in the form of Building Bulletins 98 and 99: 'Briefing Framework for Secondary School Projects' and 'Briefing Framework for Primary School Projects', respectively. The application of this guidance to individual projects is a matter for local decision-making, although the Department strongly encourages local authorities to follow the area guidelines set out in its Building Bulletins.

Education White Paper

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether a race equality impact assessment has been carried out on the proposals contained in the education White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools for All.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 7 February 2006
	A full race equality impact assessment has been carried out on relevant proposals within the White Paper. The assessment was published on my Department's website on 28 February, the day the Education Bill was introduced.

European Diploma Supplement

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the progress of the European Diploma Supplement.

Bill Rammell: A recent survey by the sector-wide UK Higher Education Europe Unit reported that 99 per cent. of UK higher education institutions (HEIs) are aware of the supplement and that one in three is already issuing it. The Europe Unit is advising HEIs on issuing the Diploma Supplement in the UK and is working with the UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre (UKNARIC) and the UK network of Bologna Promoters to increase the implementation of the Diploma Supplement.

Further Education

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what definition her Department uses of a full-time course in further education.

Bill Rammell: The main DfES and Learning and Skills Council (LSC) statistical series define further education full-time learners as those enrolled on programmes of at least 450 guided learning hours per year, or of at least 150 guided learning hours per tri-annual period or more than 16 guided learning hours per week for shorter courses.

Further Education

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many 16 to 18-year-olds in Devon colleges were funded in part by virement from other further education funding in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05;
	(2)  how many 16 to 18-year-old full-time equivalent students in Devon colleges were not funded at the further education average rate for 16 to 18-year-olds in 2003–04.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 17 March
	Since 1997 funding for further education has increased by around £2.5 billion—equivalent to around 48 per cent. in real terms. Our investment in FE participation will increase further from £4.9 billion in 2005–06 to £5.1 billion in 2006–07. However, colleges are independent bodies and decide for themselves how they manage the funds they receive from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). We do not collect information on the decisions that colleges take regarding the management of their budgets. No 16 to 19-year-olds were unfunded in 2003–04. Further education colleges delivering learning for young people above the planned volumes agreed with the LSC were provided with extra funding for these additional learners.

GCSE Grades

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of secondary school students in Tamworth constituency achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C in (a) 2005 and (b) 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Pupils nationally have made excellent progress since 1997. The improvement in the proportion of 15-year-olds achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalents has been 11 percentage points. Over 67,000 more pupils 1 are now achieving at this level than in 1997.
	1 Based on a standardised cohort of 600,000 pupils.
	The GCSE and equivalent achievements of young people, in 1997 and 2005, in the Tamworth constituency are provided in the table. They are also available on the'In Your Area' website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea/.
	
		
			  Percentage of 15-year-olds achieving the  equivalent of 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C 
			  Tamworth(27) England(28) 
		
		
			 2005 45.5 56.3 
			 1997 38.5 45.1 
		
	
	(27)Local figures are based on maintained schools only
	(28)National figures are based on all schools

Head Teachers

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the use of mentoring for head teachers by Plymouth City Council; and whether there are circumstances under which her Department would seek to intervene if it considered such mentoring costs to be excessive.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 17 March 2006
	We have made no assessment because Plymouth's use of the mentoring scheme is a local matter, based on local needs. It is for schools and local authorities to determine the arrangements they put in place to support their school leaders. Head teacher mentoring can play a key role in supporting school leaders in their goal to raise standards.

Homophobic Bullying

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the outcome was of the meeting of Ministers on 23 March 2004 to consider measures to tackle homophobic bullying in schools; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Following the meeting in March 2004, the Department for Education and Skills has been leading on work across Government to counter homophobia in our schools. Work on tackling homophobic bullying is one strand of this. As recommended by the Practitioners Group on Behaviour and Discipline, the recent White Paper committed the Department to producing specific guidance for schools on countering homophobic bullying as part of a suite of materials on prejudice driven bullying. We recently hosted a scoping meeting, involving leading experts from the fields of both anti-bullying and anti-homophobia, along with the professional associations and representatives from local authorities. The advice will be published during anti bullying week 2006, and between now and then we will be further consulting schools, local authorities and children and young people to inform its development.
	This guidance will build on advice already offered to schools in Stand Up for Us: Challenging Homophobia" in Schools which was prepared by the National Healthy Schools Programme with considerable input from the Department. Stand Up For Us" was made available to schools in November 2004 and sets out a practical approach for schools and suggests steps to create an environment where everyone can feel welcome and valued.
	To establish the baseline position here, we published Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools: a review and implications for action", during anti bullying week in November 2004. This review, by the Thomas Coram Research Unit, looks at three areas: behaviour and bullying; teaching and learning about sexual orientation and relationships; and employment issues. It collates, summarises and assesses both peer reviewed research material, from this country and abroad, and less formal work conducted by bodies active in this area.It also reports the views of a wide range of organisations, 28 in all, with an interest in this area to paint a picture of how the issues are currently perceived. The report is available on the DfES website http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research and the findings will be used to inform the development of further advice to schools.

Information and Communication Technology

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the trial of the National Curriculum Online Test of Capability in Information and Communication Technology taken at the end of Key Stage 3;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the National Curriculum Online Test of Capability in Information and Communication Technology can be taken by more than 50 pupils in a school in one session;
	(3)  what responses her Department received from schools involved in the trial of the National Curriculum Online Test of Capability in Information and Communication Technology.

Jacqui Smith: We are committed to introducing a new statutory Key Stage 3 test in Information and Communication Technology in 2008, subject to a successful pilot. The test is being developed in recognition of the place of ICT as an essential skill for the 21st century and as an independent measure of the attainment target for ICT at the end of Key Stage 3.
	Pilots of the test took place in 2004 and 2005. There will be further pilots in May 2006 and in 2007. All secondary schools should be taking part in these pilots to ensure that they are fully prepared for the test in 2008.
	The ground-breaking test design was recognised in the Computing Awards for Excellence 2005, where it was judged to be the Innovative Computing Project of the Year, and in the 2005 e-Government National Awards.
	The test system does not put a limit on the number of pupils who may take the test at any one time, which will be a matter for schools to decide. As many schools will not have sufficient workstations for all their pupils to take the test at one time, the QCA proposes that schools should be able to arrange test sessions to take place at any time within a four-week window. To ensure the necessary high level of security, the test's software automatically generates different versions of each task and randomly allocates these to pupils.
	The QCA gathered feedback from schools to inform their evaluation of the 2005 pilot and further development of the test. Schools' responses are summarised in the Report on the 2005 KS3ICT Test Pilot", which is available from the QCA's website www.qca.org.uk/7280.html. Feedback from participating schools was very positive and the new test was widely welcomed by teachers and pupils.

Learning and Study Skills

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what materials she will provide to deprived parents to use at home to support their child's learning and study skills as referred to on page 67 of theWhite Paper 'Higher Standards, Better Schools forAll'.

Jacqui Smith: We are developing proposals on how best to engage all parents so that they are better able to support their child's learning. We will also consider how to support parents with additional needs, including deprived parents. We will ensure schools provide better information and support for parents on the progress of their child at school, including materials to use at home for those parents who have children that have fallen behind in English and mathematics.
	Since 1997, we have sought to enhance parental involvement in children's learning through a range of measures targeted at parents and schools. These include information for parents such as videos, DVDs, the Learning Journey guides, the Parents Centre website, and funding for helplines offering advice on educational issues; and materials for schools such as the Involving Parents, Raising Achievement toolkit, and others disseminated through the Primary and Key Stage 3 National Strategies.

Level 2 Qualifications

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made towards increasing by three percentage points the proportion of 19 year olds who achieve at least level 2 by 2006.

Jacqui Smith: We are making excellent progress towards our PSA target. Figures released in February 2006 show a 3 percentage point increase between 2004 and 2005 in the attainment of young people at level 2 (5GCSE A*–C or equivalent) by the age of 19. The target we are aiming for is 69.8 per cent. in 2006, 68.4 per cent. of the youngsters who will be 19 in 2006 are already at level 2 or above in 2005.

Lifelong Learning/Higher Education Directorates

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the pay levels of senior non-civil servant staff attached to the (a) Lifelong Learning Directorate and (b) Higher Education Directorate are; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The following provides information on the pay levels of senior non-civil servant staff attached to the Lifelong Learning and Skills and Higher Education Directorates on significant attachments, full or part time, lasting for more than three months.
	In Lifelong Learning and Skills Directorate there are currently six senior consultants attached to Directorate on a part-time basis (usually no more than a few days a month) at an average daily rate of £1,129. In addition there 25 individuals working part time or full time in the Directorate who are on secondment from other organisations in the education and training sector. Three of the secondees are not paid by the Department and we therefore hold no salary information on them. The salaries of other secondees range from £11,064 to £99,636 per annum.
	In Higher Education Directorate there are currently five senior consultants attached to Directorate on a part-time basis (again usually no more than a few days a month) at an average daily rate of £1,164.
	Senior consultants or secondees are engaged by the Department where individuals with a particular knowledge and expertise are required and where that knowledge and expertise are not available within the Department.

Mature Students

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which 10 higher education institutions have the (a) largest and (b) smallest percentage of mature students.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information for English Higher Education Institutions is shown in the tables.
	
		10 HE institutions with the largest percentage of mature(29) enrolments, 2004/05
		
			 HE institution Number of enrolments % mature 
		
		
			 Royal College of Nursing 880 100 
			 London Business School 1,625 99 
			 Open University 173,015 96 
			 Birkbeck College 14,905 96 
			 Homerton College 2,765 93 
			 Institute of Education 6,770 88 
			 Thames Valley University 20,015 87 
			 London School of Hygiene and  Tropical Medicine 970 84 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School 3,510 83 
			 University of Bolton 7,475 82 
			 All English HE institutions 1,895,825 64 
		
	
	(29)'Mature' enrolments are those aged 21 years or over on undergraduate courses or 25 years or over on postgraduate courses.
	Note:
	Figures are on a HESA standard registration population basis and are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record
	
		10 HE institutions with the smallest percentage of mature(30) enrolments, 2004/05
		
			 HE institution Number of enrolments % mature 
		
		
			 Cumbria Institute of the Arts 1,045 43 
			 London School of Economics and  Political Science 8,815 43 
			 University of Newcastle upon Tyne 18,510 43 
			 Loughborough University 16,270 42 
			 Royal College of Music 610 42 
			 Royal Holloway and Bedford New  College 7,655 40 
			 Royal Academy of Music 735 39 
			 Trinity and All Saints College 2,500 39 
			 University of Durham 16,980 37 
			 Royal Northern College of Music 555 36 
			 All English HE institutions 1,895,825 64 
		
	
	(30)'Mature' enrolments are those aged 21 years or over on undergraduate courses or 25 years or over on postgraduate courses.
	Note:
	Figures are on a HESA standard registration population basis and are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record

Obesity

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made towards reducing the rise in obesity among children under 11 years by 2010.

Jacqui Smith: The public service agreement to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under 11 by 2010 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole is the joint responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, the Secretary of State for Health, and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Joint cross-departmental programme management arrangements have been established to drive action to meet this target. Progress will be measured through the Health Survey for England. The baseline will be established for the years 2002–04: the data, from the 2004 Health Survey to support this will be available shortly. We shall assess progress when the 2005 Health Survey data is available.
	The Government's obesity strategy addresses the issue through a wide range of programmes.
	We are taking action to encourage children, parents, and parents to be to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle through:
	advice and support from midwives and health visitors,
	support provided in Sure Start Children's Centres,
	obesity and overweight care pathways for GPs,
	the Healthy Schools programme,
	measures to improve the wellbeing and emotional health of children and to develop their social and emotional skills, and
	a social marketing campaign being developed for launch in the autumn.
	We are taking action to support healthy eating through:
	the 5 A DAY campaign,
	the Healthy Start scheme,
	the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme,
	new statutory nutritional standards for food in schools,
	measures to control the labelling of packaged food, and
	work with the food and advertising industries, Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority on restricting further the advertising and food promotion to children of foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
	We are making significant progress in encouraging children and adults to increase their levels of exercise through:
	creating, improving and developing children's play provision,
	increasing the amount of time pupils spend on quality PE and school sport,
	encouraging walking and cycling to school through school travel plans,
	the 10,000 steps a day initiative, and
	promoting more unusual sports for hard-to-engage children.

Part-time Education

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what provision her Department has made for parents who wish their children to go to school part-time and be home-schooled part-time;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on home schooling;
	(3)  how many children in (a) Leicester and (b) England were home-schooled in each of the last five years;
	(4)  what research her Department has evaluated on home schooling; and what the conclusions were of the research;
	(5)  how many local education authorities (a) allow children to enrol in schools on a part-time basis and (b) have children that have enrolled in schools on a part-time basis
	(6)  what estimate she has made of (a) how many children are enrolled in schools on a part-time basis and (b) what proportion of those children are also home-schooled.

Jacqui Smith: Parents of children of compulsory school age are required to ensure that their children receive a full-time education, by attending school or through other arrangements. They may exercise their right to educate their children at home full-time on a temporary or permanent basis. Schools have the discretion to agree arrangements that combine part-time school attendance with home education.
	Curently, 328,344 children attend school on a part-time basis across all 150 LAs. We do not collect data on the reasons that these pupils are attending on a part-time basis, which may include education in reception classes, reintegration to school following illness, and partial home-education.
	My Department has not evaluated any research on home education.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to the replies given on 23 January 2006, Official Report, column 1916W and 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1566W.

Physical Literacy

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether she has made progress in introducing the concept of physical literacy as part of the national curriculum in primary schools.

Jacqui Smith: Physical Education is a compulsory foundation subject within the National Curriculum. The Physical Education Programmes of Study sets out—for all Key Stages—the knowledge, skills and understanding pupils need in order to be physically literate.
	The Office for Standards in Education 2003/04 Physical Education subject report shows that the quality of teaching is good or better in 60 per cent. of primary schools and 80 per cent. of secondary schools. Pupils' achievement in Physical Education is satisfactory in the majority of primary schools, and good or better in over 50 per cent. In the secondary sector, pupils' achievement in Physical Education is good or better in 80 per cent. of schools at Key Stage 3 and 66 per cent. of schools at KeyStage 4.
	The professional development programme within the National School Sport strategy is also helping to ensure teachers and others have the tools and expertise that they need to deliver high quality Physical Education. So far this financial year, over 43,000 teacher places have been taken up on the programme.

Private Offices

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of her privateoffice was in the last year for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The cost of my private office for 2004–05 was £566,000.

Professional Institutes

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which learned institutes are recognised by her Department as professional bodies.

Jacqui Smith: The Department works with a number of organisations, many of which might be termed as learned institutes or professional bodies. While my Department does not operate a recognition system for learned institutes or professional bodies, many bodies have sought a Royal Charter and are regulated through the Privy Council. Other highly respected learned and professional bodies have chosen to stay independent.

Racist Incidents

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many racist incidents among pupils were recorded in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) further education institutions in Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The requirement to record and report all racist incidents in schools came into force in November 1999. However, Lancashire county council independently kept records before that date. On the basis of information provided by Lancashire county council, in 1997–98, 52 racist incidents were reported to the then LA, of which 21 were in primary schools and 31in secondary. In 1998–99, 76 racist incidents were reported, (26 in primary, and 50 in secondary schools). In 1999–2000 110 incidents were reported (48 in primary, and 62 in secondary schools); in 2000–2001, 244 incidents (127 in primary, and 117 in secondary schools; and in 2001–02 , 289 incidents (190 in primary and 99 in secondary schools). In 2002–03, 396 incidents were reported to Lancashire county council (183 in primary schools and 173 in secondary); in 2003–2004, 351 incidents (165 in primary schools and 148 in secondary); and in 2004–05, the latest year for which figures are available, 472 incidents were recorded, of which 230 took place in primary schools and 191 in secondary schools.
	For 2002–05, the combined numbers of racist incidents between pupils recorded in primary and in secondary schools are lower than the total number. This is because the total figure includes numbers of racist incidents recorded as taking place in nursery, infant, junior, special schools and short stay institutions.
	Information in relation to racist incidents among students in further education institutions in England, is unavailable as statistics are not routinely collated by the Department or by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the main funding body for further education.

School Finance (Swindon)

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding per pupil was provided to schools in Swindon in (a) 1997 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: Total funding per pupil aged 3–19 (real terms) in Swindon was £2,790 in 1997–98 and £3,790 in 2005–06.
	These figures include all funding for education via Education Formula Spending (EFS) and education grants allocated at an authority level. They exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and the Learning and Skills Council, and are in real terms.
	Notes:
	Price Base: Real terms at 2004–05 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 23 December 2005.
	Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment / Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC.
	Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 3–19 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level.
	The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3-year-old maintained pupils and estimated 3–4 year olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.
	Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10.
	Status: 2005–06 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.

School Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much her Department has spent on school sport in each year since 2000.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 17 March 2006
	The table sets out the actual, and for the current financial year (2005–06) the projected, spend by the Department for Education and Skills on school sport since 2000–01. The figures have been rounded up to the nearest thousand.
	
		
		
			 Financial Year £ million 
		
		
			 Actual Spend on School Sport  
			 2000–01 9.5 
			 2001–02 14.6 
			 2002–03 23.5 
			 2003–04 84.254 
			 2004–05 116.463 
			 Projected Spend on School Sport  
			 2005–06 155.25

School Staffing Structure

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what funding has been provided for schools in Gloucestershire to implement (a) the Schools Staffing Structure Review and (b) Planning Preparation and Assessment;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the impact of (a) the Schools Staffing Structure Review and (b) planning, preparation and assessment on headteachers' workloads in small schools;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the impact of the requirements of the (a) Schools Staffing Structure review and (b) planning, preparation and assessment on the workload of headteachers; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what (a) financial and (b) administrative assistance she has provided for headteachers in small schools to implement (i) the Schools Staffing Structure Review and (ii) the requirements of planning, preparation and assessment.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 16 March 2006
	We have given careful consideration, in consultation with our national education partners, to the additional resources that schools might require in the financial years 2005–06 and 2006–07 to implement guaranteed planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time for allteachers. This included a survey of real schools including those with relatively low funding, small schools, and those in rural areas, to gain a better understanding of their starting points, how they planned to deliver PPA and the extent to which they could achieve this through the redeployment of existing resources and the additional resources required.
	In the light of this, we concluded that there would be an average additional cost pressure for nursery and primary schools of 0.8 per cent. to 1 per cent. per pupil in 2005–06 and 0.7 per cent. per pupil in 2006–07. We reflected these extra pressures by setting the minimum funding guarantee for primary and nursery schools for 2005–06 at 5 per cent. per pupil, compared with 4 per cent. per pupil for secondary and special schools and at 4 per cent. per pupil in 2006–07, compared with 3.4 per cent. per pupil for secondary and special schools.
	The minimum increases for schools have been backed by substantial headroom at local authority level in each year, which authorities can use to support schools with particular pressures arising from PPA, including very small schools. In 2005–06, Gloucestershire received an increase in its Schools Formula Spending Share of 6.9 per cent. per pupil, and for 2006–07 it will receive an increase in its allocation of the new Dedicated Schools Grant of 6.8 per cent. per pupil (compared with its budgeted spending in 2005–06). These increases equal the national average increase in each year. It is for each local authority, in consultation with its Schools Forum, to decide on the distribution of funding between the schools in its area.
	Nothing in the review of staffing structure process compels schools to incur additional expenditure. Any changes to the staffing structure, and the timing of the implementation of such changes, are within schools' control, provided that they are implemented by 31 December 2008.
	We have made no specific assessment of the impact of either the Schools Staffing Structure Review or PPA on headteachers1 workloads in small schools. However, we are aware that both the implementation of PPA time and the review of school staffing structures were major tasks for headteachers and school leaders to manage last year. Of course, headteachers who have a teaching timetable, which is most common in small schools, will themselves benefit from PPA time.
	Headteachers will also benefit from other elements of our workforce reform programme, such as dedicated headship time for headteachers (introduced in September 2005) and the provisions on work/life balance (effective from September 2003). We are very conscious of the need to bear down on headteacher workload and, in response to a School Teachers' Review Body recommendation, have announced an independent study into the roles, responsibilities, structures and rewards systems for the leadership group.
	We provided all headteachers with a great deal of guidance to help them implement PPA and review their staffing structure. On PPA, national guidance has been issued by the National Remodelling Team, and that has been backed up by practical advice and support from a national network of local authority based remodelling advisers. On the staffing structure review, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 10 October 2005, Official Report, columns 350–1W, on Headteacher's Staffing Reviews, concerning the support provided.

Schools (Sales)

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what Government policy is on the use by local authorities of the proceeds from the sale of schools.

Jacqui Smith: Local authorities are free to dispose of redundant school buildings and to use any sale proceeds as they see fit. However, in the case of surplus or redundant school playing fields, local authorities are required, in line with the Government's policy to protect school playing fields, to obtain the Secretary of State's prior consent and such consent will only be given where the local authority undertakes to recycle the sale proceeds for sport or educational purposes.

School Funding

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average funding per pupil is for 2005–06 in Coventry, South.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 7 March 2006
	The Department does not collect information on school funding at constituency level. It only collects funding information at the local authority level. The average funding per pupil aged 3 to19 in Coventry in 2005–06 is £4,200. In 1997–98 the equivalent figure was £2,920: this represents an increase over this period of some 1,280 in real terms.
	Notes:
	Price Base: Real terms at 2004–05 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 23 December 2005.
	Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of standard spending assessment/education formula spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC.
	Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged 3 to19 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level.
	The pupil numbers used to convert £m figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3 year old maintained pupils and estimated 3 to 4-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.
	Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10.
	Status: 2005–06 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.

Selection

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria schools will be able to use to select pupils for secondary education under the terms of the Education and Inspections Bill.

Jacqui Smith: Clause 36 of the Bill reaffirms the general rule that children should not be selected for admission to schools on the basis of academic ability. It prevents the introduction of any new selection by ability, and clarifies that any school that becomes its own admission authority will not be able to select pupils by ability, if it doesn't already do so.
	Legislation will continue to allow exceptions to the general restriction on selection—i.e. by grammar schools and other schools which, in 1997/98, selected a proportion of their intake by ability or aptitude. It will also continue to be permissible for admission authorities to introduce selection of up to 10 per cent. of their intake on the basis of aptitude for prescribed subjects.
	But there are other means of 'selecting' or giving pupils priority for admission to schools. Clause 40 of the Bill prohibits schools from interviewing either parents or their children as part of their admission arrangements.
	Clause 37 will give a new School Admissions Code greater force than the existing Code of Practice. It will impose requirements on admission authorities and they will have to act in accordance with its provisions and guidelines. The new Code will set out what are acceptable and unacceptable admission criteria and practices, to ensure that all schools use fair admissions processes.

Single-sex Schools

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of single sex Muslim schools likely to be established over the next decade as a consequence of the Government's promotion of diversity of provision; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Promoters of new schools may bring forward proposals at any time in response to local parental demand. Before publishing proposals they must consult widely. The decision whether or not proposals are approved is made locally. Decision makers must have regard to guidance from the Secretary of State when considering proposals for new schools. The guidance requires them to take into account a range of factors, including the effect on standards, views of interested parties and the extent to which the proposals address the need to promote community cohesion. In particular, decision makers are required to consider any sex discrimination issues in relation to proposals for a single sex school. The number of new schools of any type which are established in future will continue to depend on local circumstances.

Special Educational Needs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps, in addition to research, the Government are taking to address the over-representation of some minority ethnic groups among children who have been identified as having special educational needs; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: We have taken steps to consult with key professionals in this area in order to identify gaps in knowledge, gain an understanding of their professional experiences and develop further awareness of issues in relation to the incidence of special educational needs among minority ethnic groups. The Department has commissioned research to establish the existence of any links between ethnicity and special educational needs. We will consider carefully the results of our consultations and the findings of the research in order to identify the most appropriate ways of addressing any issues of over-representation of some minority ethnic groups among children with special educational needs.

Special Educational Needs

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children with a special educational need who had been excluded from school were readmitted in the last period for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: This information is not held centrally.

Special Educational Needs

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases of exclusions for children with a special educational need have been referred to the Special Educational Need and Disability Tribunal.

Jacqui Smith: Since September 2002, when the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal first heard claims of disability discrimination, they have registered eight cases involving permanent exclusion and 53 cases involving fixed period exclusions from school. These are listed by year in the following table.
	
		
			 Type of exclusion 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 
		
		
			 Permanent 3 4 1 
			 Fixed period 10 16 27

Special Educational Needs

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children with a special educational need have been given an individual education plan.

Maria Eagle: This information is not collected centrally.

Special Educational Needs

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in England have a special educational needs co-ordinating officer.

Maria Eagle: This information is not collected centrally. Under The Education (Special Educational Needs) (Information) (England) Regulations 1999 the governing body of every maintained mainstream school must publish prescribed information, including the name of the person who is responsible for co-ordinating the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), whether or not the person is known as the SEN co-ordinator.

Staff Vetting

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what staff (a) vetting procedures and (b) mandatory criminal investigation checks are in place to safeguard children who attend (i) after school clubs held off school premises, (ii) drop-in cre(r)ches and nurseries and (iii) holiday clubs.

Ruth Kelly: Ofsted registers after school clubs, creches, nurseries and holiday clubs which cater for children under the age of eight. As part of the registration process, Ofsted undertakes a range of checks on the person providing the facility and the person in day-to-day charge to ensure that they are suitable to look after children. These checks include identity checks, checks through the Criminal Records Bureau, checks with the person's GP, and checks against local authority social services records. During inspection Ofsted checks that the registered person has appropriate systems in place for Criminal Records Bureau checks for all new employees.
	The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill, introduced on 28 February 2006 will provide the legislative framework for a new vetting and barring scheme. This scheme will include those working in childcare not registered by Ofsted, such as childcare for children aged over eight. Under the new scheme, where work, either paid and unpaid, involves frequent teaching, caring for or otherwise working closely with children, the employer will be required to check employees are not barred from working with children, and will be committing an offence if they employ a person so barred.

Sure Start

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on (a) Sure Start and Children's Fund regional teams and (b) the Sure Start task force in each year since 1999; and what the estimated expenditure is for the next three years.

Beverley Hughes: The role of the Sure Start and Children's Fund regional teams is to support and monitor the delivery of Sure Start and the Children's Fund by Local Authorities. The available administration expenditure figures for these teams are set out in Table 1. Part of the role of these teams has been transferred to Government Offices from April 2006. My Department is considering how best to deliver support to Local Authorities in rolling out Children's Centres in the period from now to 2010.
	
		Table 1: Administration Expenditure for Sure Start and Children's Fund regional teams
		
			  Sure Start/Children's Fund (£ million) 
		
		
			 2000–01 0.76 
			 2001–02 1.47 
			 2002–03 3.16 
			 2003–04 4.03 
			 2004–05 4.82 
			 2005–06 4.50 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The figure for 2005–06 is an estimate.
	2.Children's Fund figures are included from 2003–04 onwards.
	The Sure Start Taskforce was set up in April 2005. There are currently 11 consultants in the Taskforce and their role is to support particular Local Authorities with issues related to the delivery of Sure Start. The budget for the Taskforce for the financial year 2005–06 was £800,000. The taskforce will be dissolved on 31 March 2006.

Sure Start

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many under-fives have participated in the Sure Start programme in (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon, (c) Greater London and (d) England since the programme's inception;
	(2)  many under-fives entitled to free places on the Sure Start scheme are on waiting lists in (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon, (c) Greater London and (d) England;
	(3)  how many empty places there are in Sure Start nurseries in (a) the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood, (b) the London borough of Hillingdon, (c) Greater London and (d) England.

Beverley Hughes: Sure Start local programmes offer services to children under 4 years of age. Programmes were set up between 1999 and 2003. Information about the number of children seen is available from 2001 but is incomplete because reporting, in the early stages of the programme, from some programmes was irregular.
	There are no Sure Start local programmes in the constituency of Ruislip-Northwood. The London borough of Hillingdon has one Sure Start local programme covering a 'catchment' area where 640 children under 4 live. This programme saw 593 children 1 between 2001 and 2005. There are 96 Sure Start local programmes in London. There are around 88,500 children under 4 in the 'catchment' areas for these programmes. 60,406 1 children were seen between 2001 and 2005. There are 524 Sure Start local programmes in England. There are over 420,000 children under 4 living in the 'catchment' areas for these programmes. 249,954 1 children were seen between 2001 and 2005.
	Information on the number of children on waiting lists for Sure Start services or empty places in Sure Start nurseries is not collected centrally.
	 1 Source:
	Sure Start Local Programmes monitoring returns between 2001 and 2005. The dataset is incomplete, and therefore presents a partial view only, as some programmes did not submit regular returns across the whole period.

Sure Start

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what projects in Aylesbury constituency have received Sure Start funding; how much each received; and over what period of time the funding was paid in each case.

Beverley Hughes: There are no Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLP) in the Aylesbury constituency. However, within Buckinghamshire local authority, there is a SSLP situated in Wycombe. The authority also receives funding for Sure Start Children's Centres and it decides, in consultation with its delivery partners, how and where the funding is spent within its area. Funding for each of the programmes was as follows:
	
		£
		
			  Sure Start Local Programme Revenue Children's Centres Revenue, Buckinghamshire Children's Centres Capital, Buckinghamshire 
		
		
			 2002–03 114,500 — — 
			 2003–04 426,500 — — 
			 2004–05 688,500 49,839 3,525 
			 2005–06 810,000 83,666 146,475 
		
	
	In addition, the SSLP in Wycombe was allocated capital of £835,000. This is not included in the table as it was not allocated to specific financial years.

Training Schools

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many schools in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector are training schools;
	(2)  how many schools in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector are to be designated as training schools in 2007.

Jacqui Smith: There are currently 244 operational Training Schools—195 secondary and 49 primary. From 2005, high performing specialist schools are able to apply for secondary Training School status at specialist re-designation; 16 new Training Schools will become operational from 1 April. Primary schools will no longer be able to apply directly for Training School status, but the Training and Development Agency are currently considering the development of a primary initiative.
	There are no set targets for 2007.
	High performing specialist schools applying for specialist re-designation will be given the opportunity to apply for Training School status beginning in 2007.

Trust Schools

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which features of proposed new trust schools will help raise standards at Clayton Hall Business and Language College in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Jacqui Smith: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him in reply to the same question he asked about Wolstanton High School and Sir Thomas Boughey High School, given on 13 March 2006, Official Report, column 1881W. The same potential benefits apply to Clayton Hall Business and Language College.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Visit (Bexley)

David Evennett: To ask the Leader of the House what the itinerary was for his recent visit to Bexley borough.

Geoff Hoon: The itinerary was as follows:
	Meeting at the United Reform Church Hall, Geddes Place, Bexleyheath
	Meeting with members of Bexley Youth Council and sixth formers
	Met pensioners at the Royal British Legion.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce the backlog of cases at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Tony McNulty: We will continue with the wide range of measures being introduced under our five year strategy. Through these measures we will speed up decision making, introduce tighter border control and new visa regimes and increasingly apply fast track processes to determine straightforward cases. For example, our continuing success in reducing asylum intake will enable us to process older cases and the Points Based System will introduce a more efficient application process.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum claims have been processed under each of the late and opportunistic and non-suspensive appeal segments of the New Asylum Model since 20 June; and what the outcome was in each case.

Tony McNulty: As at 20 October the Asylum Casework Information Database (ACID) recorded 70 cases as having been taken into the New Asylum Model (NAM) segments which relate to potentially non-suspensive appeals (Segment 3) and to late and opportunistic claims with low barriers to removal (Segment 4), with 65 case outcomes.
	These break down as follows:
	
		Number
		
			 Case outcome Segment 3 Segment 4 
		
		
			 Asylum refusal 5 55 
			 Granted — 10 
			 Humanitarian protection/  discretionary leave * *

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claimants awaiting a decision were wearing an electronic tag on 31 December 2005.

Tony McNulty: On 31 December 2005 there were a total of 71 asylum claimants wearing an electronic tag. Of those, 12 were awaiting a decision on their claim.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the removal of failed asylum seekers.

Tony McNulty: We have taken some very important steps forward in recent weeks, by significantly increasing the number of removals, and now believe we have reached the point where they exceed the number of unfounded applications. We will validate these figures and release them in due course. This represents a fantastic achievement in performance in comparison to past years.

Data-mining

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Government policy on the practice of data-mining.

Andy Burnham: The practice of data-mining, which I understand to be a tool to help establish relationships in large databases of information, can be valuable in protecting the public. However, there must always be appropriate checks and balances to prevent the misuse of personal data.

Equality/Diversity

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to promote equality and diversity within his Department.

Charles Clarke: The Home Office is promoting equality, fairness and respect through a 5-year programme of action to drive forward an integrated and systematic approach to race equality and diversity in leadership, staff management and business delivery across the Home Office Group. The programme also supports the work to achieve Cabinet Office diversity targets for SCS and feeder grades and action on the Cabinet Office 10 Point Plan for delivering a diverse civil service.

Abdel Karim Taqhouti

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the determination of 14 September by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in respect of Abdel Karim Taqhouti, appeal number OA/00652/2005, was not sent to the UK embassy in Tunis until 31 October; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The determination was forwarded to the British embassy in Tunis on 21 September by diplomatic bag.

Child Abuse

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 928W, on child abuse, what powers the police have (a) to issue a risk of sexual harm order where the offender has been cautioned for the sexual abuse of a child committed more than 50 years ago and (b) to investigate an individual who confesses to an offence of child abuse committed over 50 years ago to determine whether the offender is a risk to children or has committed any subsequent acts of child abuse.

Paul Goggins: The police can apply to a magistrate's court for a risk of sexual harm order in respect of any adult aged 18 or over who, on at least two occasions, has engaged in sexually explicit conduct or communication with a child or children. The defendant does not need to have a conviction for a sexual or any other offence but, by virtue of section 127 of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980, at least part of the behaviour causing concern must have taken place in the six months prior to the application being made. The police have the power to investigate any individual about whom an allegation is made or where there is evidence of any offence having been committed, regardless of whether or not the person has offended previously.

Child Immigrants (Detention)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were detained with their families for immigration purposes in (a) 2005 and (b) November 2005.

Tony McNulty: The number of children with their families detained solely under Immigration Act Powers is not available. It would be available only by examination of manual records at disproportionate costs.

Child Protection

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2006, Official Report, column 1090W on child protection, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of cautions given for possession of an indecent photograph of a child between 2002 and 2003.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 14 February 2006
	The issuing of simple cautions is an operational matter for the police. No analysis has been made of the reason for the increase in cautions at that particular time, although the number of those prosecuted also rose during the same period.
	
		Number of defendants cautioned, those proceeded against at magistrates courts and those found guilty at all courts for offences relating to child pornography, England and Wales, 1982–2004(31)
		
			 Offence description/disposal 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 
		
		
			 Take or make indecent photographs of children(32)  
			 Cautioned 0 n/a 2 1 1 n/a n/a 5 10 10 10 7 
			 Proceeded against 9 12 18 22 10 23 32 44 44 40 46 42 
			 Found guilty 12 12 19 24 11 29 31 39 35 39 44 37 
			  
			 Possession of an indecent photograph of a child(33)   
			 Cautioned * * * * * * n/a 2 5 3 13 4 
			 Proceeded against * * * * * * 1 21 36 53 43 48 
			 Found guilty * * * * * * 2 16 32 43 30 35 
		
	
	
		
			 Offence description/disposal 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Take or make indecent photographs of children(32)
			 Cautioned 6 18 15 14 26 31 35 38 63 239 201 
			 Proceeded against 40 53 80 111 116 175 284 398 582 1,464 1,097 
			 Found guilty 27 44 69 103 82 139 218 289 434 1,048 978 
			 
			 Possession of an indecent photograph of a child(33)
			 Cautioned 7 11 16 17 19 34 25 (34)32 53 205 162 
			 Proceeded against 53 60 125 124 167 163 129 (34)128 156 326 200 
			 Found guilty 36 37 79 81 105 99 77 (34)75 97 239 184 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	*=not applicable.
	(31)All data given refer to the principal offence only. Data may include persons proceeded against in earlier years or for a different offence.
	(32)Offences under the Protection of Children Act 1978, section 1 and section 6 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, section 84.
	(33)Offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 160 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Services Act 2000, section 41(3). (previously 181/06)
	(34)Amendments in figures made as this offence became an indictable offence during this period.
	Source:
	Offending and Criminal Justice Group (RDS)
	Ref: IOS 391–05

Compensation Orders

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many compensation orders were imposed upon offenders in Weston-super-Mare in each of the last five years; and how many of these were not paid in each year.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information on compensation orders imposed is contained in the table. Information about non-payment of compensation orders is not collected centrally.
	
		Compensation orders at Weston-super-mare magistrates court
		
			  Number of offenders given compensation orders 
		
		
			 2004 214 
			 2003 260 
			 2002 230 
			 2001 231 
			 2000 196 
		
	
	Source:
	RDS—OCJR 02/12/2005

Crime (Uxbridge)

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) support services and (b) training are available to help children of school age who have been convicted of a crime in (i) Uxbridge constituency, (ii) the London borough of Hillingdon, (iii) Greater London and (iv) England.

Fiona Mactaggart: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Hurd) on 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1152W.

Departmental Staff

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's headquarters head count was at (a) 1 May 2004, (b) 1 May 2005 and (c) 1 November 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: The head count for the Department's headquarters is contained in the table. Also the figures submitted to include IND HQ (and all Home Office HQ) but does not include operational front line staff.
	Headquarters headcount data for the actual dates specified is not available but please refer to the table.
	
		Headquarters headcount
		
			  Full-time equivalent headquarters post 
		
		
			 12 March 2004 9,896 
			 30 April 2005 8,835 
			 31 October 2005 8,697

Drug Testing

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for extending drug testing on arrest.

Paul Goggins: Drug testing on arrest under powers introduced by the Drugs Act 2005 was successfully implemented in three police force areas on 1 December 2005. The provision will be implemented in the remaining Drug Interventions Programme intensive" areas in England on 31 March 2006 from which date a total of over 170 custody suites will be testing on arrest.

European Anti-crime Measures

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been referred from the UK to (a) Europol and (b) Eurojust in each of the last five calendar years.

Andy Burnham: The United Kingdom's competent authorities do not refer cases to Europol. It does not have police powers and does not itself carry out criminal investigations. It is an intelligence agency which supports member states' own investigations into serious organised crime by analysing and exchanging the information and intelligence which they provide.
	Information in respect of Eurojust, the EU judicial co-operation unit, is available for 2001–04 and is set out in the following table. Eurojust was established on a provisional basis on 1 March 2001. The Council Decision formally establishing Eurojust was adopted on 28 February 2002 and Eurojust moved into its headquarters in The Hague in December 2002.
	
		United Kingdom Eurojust cases
		
			  Cases referred by the UK 
		
		
			 2001 9 
			 2002 20 
			 2003 35 
			 2004 42

Football Banning Orders

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of football banning orders; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: A comprehensive strategy for tackling football disorder was introduced in the wake of the serious disorder during Euro 2000. The football banning order law and enforcement arrangements are the cornerstone of that strategy and have proved highly effective in helping to reduce levels of English and Welsh football disorder. The impact of banning orders and the wider strategy is detailed in a Home Office report Football (Disorder) Act 2000: Report to Parliament, copies of which were placed in the House Library on 20 January 2006.

Forensic Practitioners (Complaints)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedure is to be followed by an individual who has a complaint regarding the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners.

Andy Burnham: The Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners is a company limited by guarantee. It is not part of the Home Office and, while the Home Secretary supports the work of the council and is represented on the council, it is not answerable to or under the direction of the Home Secretary.
	Should an individual have concerns with the work of the council the appropriate course of action would be to raise these with the council.

Home Detention Curfew Scheme

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those released under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme have reoffended, broken down by (a) crime committed on release and (b) crime originally imprisoned for.

Fiona Mactaggart: As of 31 October 2005 over 119,000 prisoners have been released on the scheme since it was introduced in January 1999, of whom 4,095 have been notified to the Home Office as convicted, cautioned or awaiting prosecution for a further offence committed whilst subject to Home Detention Curfew (HDC). Table 1 gives a breakdown by original index offence (the more or most serious index offence in the case of those offenders who had committed multiple offences) of these 4,095 offenders. Table 2 gives a breakdown of the total number of further offences for which offenders have been convicted, cautioned or are currently awaiting prosecution during the period of HDC.
	
		Table 1: Breakdown of index offences of those who have committed further offences
		
			 28 January 1999 to 31 October 2005 Total 
		
		
			 Total 4,095 
			   
			 Violent against the person 456 
			 Sexual offences 0 
			 Burglary 650 
			 Robbery 258 
			 Theft and handling 858 
			 Fraud and forgery 121 
			 Drug offences 353 
			 Motoring offences 594 
			 Other 805 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Breakdown of all further offences committed by those released on HDC
		
			 28 January 1999 to 31 October 2005 Total 
		
		
			 Total 7,119 
			   
			 Violent against the person 886 
			 Sexual offences 18 
			 Burglary 337 
			 Robbery 100 
			 Theft and handling 1,780 
			 Fraud and forgery 252 
			 Drug offences 589 
			 Motoring offences 1,735 
			 Other 1,422

Home Detention Curfew Scheme

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost per week per prisoner of the home detention curfew scheme.

Fiona Mactaggart: The weekly cost of electronically monitoring a prisoner released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme is about £68.

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of young offenders who took part in the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme re-offended within two years in each police authority area.

Fiona Mactaggart: The only source of reconviction data for the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme is the 24 month reconviction study carried out by Oxford University for the Youth Justice Board, which does not cover all police areas. This was published on 24 October 2005, and a copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Leave to Remain

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measure of (a) length of academic year and (b) hours per academic year the Department used in calculating the 15 hours minimum time that a student must spend in organised study per week when applying for leave to remain as a student.

Tony McNulty: The rationale behind the minimum of 15 hours organised day time study is to help ensure that a migrant's primary purpose in being in the UK is for study as a full-time student. It has been in the Immigration Rules since 1983 and is also consistent with DfES definitions of full-time study.

People Trafficking

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the number of children who are trafficked into the United Kingdom illegally in a year; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: There have been a number of recent investigations into the extent of the problem of trafficking in children, including reports by the Metropolitan police service, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office and from interested non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
	Home Office officials believe that, due to the highly covert nature of this criminal activity, we do not as yet fully understand the scale of trafficking into or within the UK. Consequently no reliable estimates of the numbers of trafficked children exist.
	On 5 January the Home Office launched a public consultation document, Tackling Human Trafficking— Consultation on Proposals for a UK Action Plan". The consultation aims to increase our knowledge and understanding of all forms of trafficking, including the trafficking of children. Home Office officials are also currently considering further research proposals and working closely with other Departments and NGOs on ways in which identification, assessment and protection of child trafficking victims might be improved. This will enable more reliable data and estimates of numbers to be collated.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of people with a learning disability in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: This information is not currently collated centrally by the Department for Education and Skills, the Home Office or the Prison Service. However, the Prison Service has recently amended its Local Inmate Database System to record prisoner disability, including separate indicators for dyslexia, mental health, learning difficulties and physical or sensory impairments. This data has yet to be gathered on the existing prison population.

Prisons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Prison Service spent on (a) television sets and (b) Sony playstations for the use of prisoners in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information is only available for the last two financial years. The expenditure for television sets also includes the amount spent on televisions used outside of cells. In-cell televisions are paid for out of rental money collected from prisoners and not from Prison Service funds. The expenditure only takes account of money spent with the current contractor. Figures for expenditure outside the central contract are not available.
	
		Expenditure on television sets and playstations in public sector prisons in England and Wales between 2004–05 and 2005–06 -- £
		
			  Spend for: 
			  2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Television 43,730.10 53,523.14 
			 Sony Playstation 499.98 1,297.30

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the changes in skills required for the staff working in prison management over the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: There is sustained investment in management and leadership skills from first line manager upwards flowing from the Professionalising the Prison Service project and forming the key foundation for work on leadership planning and management.
	The Prison Service strategy for leadership and management development is designed to enhance the quality, diversity and effectiveness of senior operational managers in order that they meet their key performance targets. Development is evidence based, tailored to individual need and is aligned with the promotion process.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list prisons which have a mother and baby unit; what the capacity of each is; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: There are currently seven mother and baby units, which are listed in the following table. Each may accommodate a set of twins.
	
		Prison establishments in England and Wales with mother and baby units
		
			 Establishment Capacity 
		
		
			 Askham Grange 10 
			 Bronzefield 12 
			 Eastwood Park 12 
			 Holloway 13 
			 New Hall 9 
			 Peterborough 12 
			 Styal 11

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many incidents of self harm there have been at each prison in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many inmates (a) committed suicide and (b) attempted suicide but were resuscitated at each prison in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested will be place in the Libraries of the House.

Same Sex Civil Partnerships

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent to which same sex civil partnerships undertaken abroad are recognised in the United Kingdom.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have carried out research to inform a list of specified countries whose same sex relationships will be recognised as civil partnerships in the United Kingdom. This list is in Schedule 20 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
	The overseas relationships listed are those that meet certain criteria demonstrating that they are similar in nature to a civil partnership. Overseas relationships which do not feature on the list can also be recognised provided that they meet certain 'general conditions' which are specified in the Act.

Silverland, Chertsey (Costs)

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost, and average monthly cost, to date has been to the Government for (a) building works and (b) security provisions at Silverlands, Chertsey.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	From October 1999 to the date of sale the Government spent £3,175,000 (average £46,691 per month) on building and maintenance works and £1,770,000 (average £26,029 per month) on site security relating to Silverlands.
	The property was sold by the Department on 23 May 2005.

Stolen Property (Recovery Costs)

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money was raised in each of the last three years by police forces charging victims of car theft for the return of their vehicles.

Paul Goggins: There is no distinct charge on the victims of car theft for the return of their vehicles. The police have powers to order the removal of any vehicle that is dangerously, obstructively or illegal parked, broken down or abandoned, including vehicles abandoned after being stolen. Before owners can regain any vehicle so removed, they are required by law to pay charges prescribed by the Secretary of State to meet the costs. The charges are currently £105 for the removal and £12 for each storage period of 24 hours. Information on the total value of charges levied and the circumstances in which they were levied is not collected centrally.

Work Permits

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued to individuals working in sport in each of the last five years; and in which (a) sports and (b) area of employment the individuals concerned were employed.

Tony McNulty: The following table shows the total number of work permits issued to individuals working in sport in the last five years. Listed as the occupations individuals were employed in and the specific areas within the sport.
	
		
			 Occupation code 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 
		
		
			 American football coach 10 7 13 7 0 37 
			 American football player 67 8 17 59 0 151 
			 American football technician 1 1 0 5 0 7 
			 Basketball coach 6 3 4 5 1 19 
			 Basketball development officer 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Basketball player 75 75 105 91 75 421 
			 Boxer 23 9 18 19 19 88 
			 Boxing coach 0 1 0 1 1 3 
			 Coach (other) 52 46 50 42 15 205 
			 Commentator 0 3 4 6 5 18 
			 Cricket coach 21 16 27 34 24 122 
			 Cricket player 409 524 507 421 328 2,189 
			 Cricket player/coach 0 0 0 58 121 179 
			 Football manager/coach 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Football player 53 49 52 49 49 252 
			 Groom 285 149 515 424 43 1,416 
			 Gymnast 2 1 0 2 0 5 
			 Gymnasts coach 26 22 16 16 18 98 
			 Hockey coach 2 4 3 2 4 15 
			 Hockey player 1 7 6 7 14 35 
			 Ice hockey coach 4 4 2 2 2 14 
			 Ice hockey player 64 82 61 45 50 302 
			 Ice skater 1 0 0 0 1 2 
			 Ice skater coach 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Jockey 8 1 5 6 7 27 
			 Jockey (work rider) 16 5 3 1 2 27 
			 Kabbadi player 0 0 0 72 81 153 
			 Lacrosse development officer 36 38 44 46 48 212 
			 Lacrosse player 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Martial arts 2 9 4 7 12 34 
			 Motor sports driver 19 18 19 13 17 86 
			 Other sports related occupation 29 71 92 100 24 316 
			 Polo groom 0 0 0 354 698 1,052 
			 Polo player 53 105 101 104 100 463 
			 Polo trainer 30 60 57 64 26 237 
			 Presenter 2 1 0 0 0 3 
			 Racquet sport coach 0 0 0 6 8 14 
			 Racquet sport player 7 10 3 4 1 25 
			 Rugby league coach 4 3 3 1 6 17 
			 Rugby league player 51 50 50 36 48 235 
			 Rugby union coach 6 10 5 12 6 39 
			 Rugby union player 62 68 35 42 52 259 
			 Snooker player 17 18 15 1 7 58 
			 Snow sports related occupation 0 4 1 0 0 5 
			 Speedway 37 34 31 29 10 141 
			 Water sports related occupation 1 3 3 4 6 17 
			 Wrestler 0 0 1 8 4 13 
			 Total 1,485 1,519 1,873 2,205 1,933 9,015

Work Permits

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is available to people seeking (a) work permits and (b) visas to come to the UK to take up employment in sport.

Tony McNulty: There is comprehensive guidance available for people seeking a work permit. There is a specific set of guidance for sports and entertainment with a detailed section on employment in sport. This guidance is maintained and updated twice yearly and can be obtained in a hard copy from a distribution centre or from the Work Permits (UK) website www.workingintheuk.gov.uk.
	For sports people who are wishing to come to the UK temporarily to take part in a competition it may not be necessary to obtain a work permit. Guidance on this can be found on the immigration and nationality directorate website www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk.
	For sports people who wish to apply for a visa there is hard copy guidance from UKvisas in the UKvisas booklet on work permits, and electronically in the diplomatic service procedures on the UKvisas website www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what cost benefit analysis he has conducted of the Access to Work scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: In 2004–05 around 32,000 people benefited from Access to Work compared with fewer than 13,000 in 1997–98, when the budget was £14.6 million compared to £60 million in 2006–07.
	For every individual helped by Access to Work there is a net benefit to the Exchequer of almost £1,400.
	For every individual helped by Access to Work there is a net benefit to the Economy of almost £3,000.
	Access to Work is administered by 11 Regional Access to Work Business Centres, each of which is responsible for its own part of the total budget. The Business Centres ensure value for money by arranging local contracts for goods and services, the details of which are given to disabled customers as required.

Benefits (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Coventry, South received (a) widow's benefit, (b) housing benefit, (c) council tax credit and (d) income support in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: Widows benefit is not available broken down geographically prior to 1999. Housing benefit and council tax benefit figures are not available broken down by parliamentary constituency; local authority figures have been provided.
	The available information is in the tables.
	
		Widows benefit and bereavement benefit claimants in the Coventry, South parliamentary constituency: each August 1999to 2005
		
			  Widows Benefit Bereavement Benefit 
		
		
			 August 1999 400 n/a 
			 August 2000 400 n/a 
			 August 2001 400 n/a 
			 August 2002 300 100 
			 August 2003 300 100 
			 August 2004 200 100 
			 August 2005 300 100 
		
	
	n/a=figures are not applicable.
	Notes:
	1.Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2.Bereavement Benefit, which replaced Widows Benefit for new claims, was introduced in April 2001.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent.
	
		Housing benefit and council tax benefit caseloads: Coventry city council; each August from 1997 to 2005.
		
			  Housing benefit Council tax benefit 
		
		
			 August 1997 26,200 37,900 
			 August 1998 25,700 36,800 
			 August 1999 24,300 33,100 
			 August 2000 23,300 33,500 
			 August 2001 21,400 31,100 
			 August 2002 21,100 30,400 
			 August 2003 21,200 29,900 
			 August 2004 21,500 30,800 
			 August 2005 21,600 32,100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	2.Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3.Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
	4.Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases.
	Source:
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in August 1997 to August 2005.
	
		Income support claimants (excluding minimum income guarantee) in the Coventry, South parliamentary constituency; each August from 1997 to 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 August 1997 4,200 
			 August 1998 4,400 
			 August 1999 4,100 
			 August 2000 4,200 
			 August 2001 4,200 
			 August 2002 4,100 
			 August 2003 4,200 
			 August 2004 4,100 
			 August 2005 3,900 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures for August 1999 to August 2005 are from the DWP 100 per cent. Work and Pensions longitudinal study, whilst figures for August 1997 and August 1998 are derived by applying 5 per cent. proportions to 100 per cent. totals.
	2.Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3.Income Support figures exclude minimum income guarantee (MIG); pension credit replaced MIG on the 6 October 2003 and ended IS entitlement to customers aged 60+. Pension credit cases are not included in the figures in the table.
	Source:
	DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) and DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. samples.

Departmental Procurement

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to achieve savings in procurement processes within (a) his Department and (b) the agencies for which he has responsibility in the last three years.

Anne McGuire: The steps taken by the Department for Work and Pensions to achieve savings in procurement processes are delivered through a commercial strategy that applies to the entire Department, its agencies and associated non-departmental public bodies (NDBPs). The steps include:
	collaborating and sharing best practice on procurement with the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and across the public sector. The Department leads cross-Government deals for stationery and postal services and recently successfully led procurement for public sector-wide frameworks for travel services including rail, air/ferry, car hire, hotels and conferences;
	expanding use of purchasing cards and e-commerce to improve the efficiency of the purchasing process. 80 per cent. of low value purchasing transactions are now processed electronically and all low value transactions will be traded electronically by 2007;
	a programme to develop procurement skills, with 75 per cent. of staff in specialist procurement posts CIPS qualified and the introduction of a Delegated Procurement Authority (DPA) to ensure all procurements are supported by suitably trained and experienced staff; and
	strategic relationship management of key suppliers such as EDS, BT, Land Securities Trillium and Royal Mail Group. A supplier performance index is being introduced for all key suppliers.
	Through these steps and others the Department has made the biggest contribution of all Departments to support OGC in exceeding its SR00 and SR02 PSA targets. The Department has reported improving procurement Value For Money (VFM) gains for the last four years. In 2004–05 it reported procurement VFM gains of £326.4 million to OGC; this was 7.6 per cent. of the Department's total commercial spend of £4,289 million and 29.5 per cent. of the total reported by all Departments.

Household Income

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what statistics his Government have produced on the persistence of poverty at levels belowthe 50 per cent. and 40 per cent. median income lines.

Margaret Hodge: No official statistics have been produced on these measures.
	The seventh annual 'Opportunity for all' report (Cm6673) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators including the persistence of low income using low-income thresholds of 60 per cent. of median household income, and 70 per cent. of median household income.

Household Income

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what statistics the Government collects that are broken down by £10 bands of equivalised weekly household income.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is published in 'Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2004–05' copies of which are available in the Library.

Household Income

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Workand Pensions 
	(1)  what statistics the Government collects on sources of income broken down by level of income;
	(2)  what statistics the Government collates on income sources as a proportion of net income.

Margaret Hodge: The Family Resources Survey, a national survey of households, collects information on levels and all sources of income and is recognised as the best source of information on income. The General Household Survey, and the Expenditure and Food Survey also collect information on the source and level of income but in less detail.
	The Family Resources Survey; The General Household Survey; and The Expenditure and Food Survey are in the Library.

Household Income

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of people had an income below 40 per cent. of median income in each year since 1997 (a) before and (b) after housing costs.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.

Incapacity Benefit

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress he has made with his plans to reform incapacity benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 13 March 2006
	We believe that the opportunity to work is a right and that it is as important as the right to equal treatment or access to services. For too long, people on incapacity benefit have been written off as incapable of work and consigned to a life on benefit. We know that a large proportion want to work and so we want to ensure that they are given the opportunity to do so. We do not believe in writing anyone off.
	On the 24 of January 2006 we published our Green Paper: A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work" which sets out our proposals for the reform of incapacity benefit. It is crucial that we get the details of these reforms right and the opinions of the public are very important. The publication of the welfare reform Green Paper began the official consultation phase, which will run until 21 April, and we invite feedback and suggestions from all interested parties as we look for the best way to move forward.

Incapacity Benefit

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of new incapacity benefit claimants aged (a) over 50 years and (b) under 50 years ended their claim within six months (i) in the Pathways to Work pilot areas and (ii) in other areas in each year since the pilots began.

Margaret Hodge: The available information is in the table.
	
		Proportion of incapacity benefit claimants ending their claim within six months -- Percentage
		
			  Aged under 50 Aged 50 and over 
			 Quarter Pathways to Work pilot areas Other areas Pathways to Work pilot areas Other areas 
		
		
			 October to December 2003(35) 49 35 40 31 
			 January to March 2004 46 33 36 29 
			 April to June 2004 44 34 33 28 
			 July to September 2004 43 34 31 28 
			 October to December 2004 45 36 35 31 
			 January to March 2005 44 36 33 30 
			 April to May 2005(36) 44 36 33 29 
		
	
	(35)Figures are from 27 October 2003 when the first phase of the pilots started.
	(36)Current benefits data does not allow six month off-flow analysis after May 2005.
	Note:
	1.Six month off-flows by quarter have been provided because data is only available for one full year.
	2.Figures do not include a proportion of short-term incapacity benefit claims, which flow on and off between scan dates; the off-flows presented will be lower than actual rates, but trends over time will be consistent.
	Source:
	DWP—National Benefits Database

Incapacity Benefit

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's targets are for reducing incapacity benefit claimants for (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, (d) 2010 and (e) 2011.

Anne McGuire: In January we published our Green Paper: A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering people to work", which set out our proposal to significantly reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefits. These include proposals to improve workplace health, reform of the gateway onto benefits, increased support for claimants and removing the perverse incentives in the system.
	While it is difficult to model the precise impact of these measures, the Green Paper set out our aspiration to reduce the number of claimants of incapacity benefits by one million over the course of the decade through the combined efforts of the Government, employers, local authorities and health professionals.
	The information requested is not available, as we have not set formal targets for reducing the IB caseload in the years 2007 to 2011.

New Deal

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of job entrants from the new deal in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005 was back on benefit within 13 weeks.

Margaret Hodge: 14 per cent. of new deal job entrants between January 2004 and December 2004 and 13 per cent. of new deal job entrants between January 2005 and August 2005 had started a new benefit claim within 13 weeks of the job start.
	Note:
	Latest benefit data are to November 2005 and, therefore, to allow for a 13 week gap, only new deal job entrants between January 2004 and August 2005 have been included.

New Deal

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of new deal for young people leavers took up (a) unsubsidised and (b) subsidised employment in (i) the private sector, (ii)the public sector and (iii) the voluntary and social enterprise sector in each year since the programme began.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the sector in which either a subsidised or unsubsidised job is gained through new deal for young people is not available.

New Deal

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of participants in the (a) new deal 25 plus and (b) new deal for young people programmes who started the programmes (i) once, (ii) twice, (iii) three times, (iv) four times and (v) more than four times were educated to (A)GCSE, (B) NVQ, (C) A level and (D) degree level in each year since the programmes began;
	(2)  what percentage of (a) new deal 25 plus and (b) new deal for young people leavers who left the programme and commenced (i) employment, (ii) a combination of employment and benefits and (iii) claiming benefits had been educated to (A) GCSE, (B) NVQ, (C) A level and (D) degree level in each year since the scheme began.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.

New Deal

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) people and (b) over 25s in Beverley and Holderness who left the New Deal have found a sustained job in each year since its inception.

Margaret Hodge: The measure of sustainability for jobs gained when leaving the New Deal programme differs across the New Deals. In the case of New Deal for Young People and New Deal 25 plus, employment is regarded as sustained if a person gaining a job through these New Deals does not claim Jobseeker's Allowance for at least 13 weeks after gaining employment and leaving the programme.
	Employment sustainability for those participating on New Deal for Lone Parents is measured by employment records held by H.M Revenue and this measure has been used since October 2005. If a person leaves New Deal for Lone Parents to a job, and they are recorded through Revenue records as still being in that job 13 weeks later, their employment is recorded as sustained.
	A measure of job sustainability for New Deal 50 plus and New Deal for Partners is not available. Information on New Deal for Disabled People is not available at constituency level.
	The available information is in the table.
	
		New Deal in Beverley and Holderness—leavers to sustained employment
		
			  People leaving New Deal to sustained employment(37) of which, left New Deal 25 plus to sustained employment(38) 
		
		
			 April to December 1998 60 — 
			 January to December 1999 220 — 
			 January to December 2000 170 — 
			 January to December 2001 210 20 
			 January to December 2002 180 40 
			 January to December 2003 200 50 
			 January to December 2004 210 40 
			 January to August 2005 100 20 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Includes people who have left New Deal for Young People since January 1998 and New Deal for Lone Parents since October 2005 to sustained employment. Also includes people who have left New Deal 25 plus since April 2001 to sustained employment.
	2.The immediate destination of people leaving New Deal 25 plus is only available from April 2001.
	3.Latest available data is to August 2005.
	4.All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Information Directorate, DWP

New Deal

Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people in Chester have participated in the New Deal.

Margaret Hodge: The information is in the table.
	
		New Deal for Young People in the City of Chester
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Individuals starting New Deal for Young People(37) 950 
			 Individuals into work through New Deal for Young People(38) 590 
		
	
	(37)Latest data to the end of November 2005.
	(38)Latest data to the end of August 2005.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate

New Deal

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work-focused interviews have been carried out by his Department under the new deal for lone parents (a) in each year since the inception of the programme and (b) in each of the last 12 calendar months, broken down by the respective qualifying period for interviews under the scheme.

Margaret Hodge: New deal for lone parents started in October 1998. All lone parents claiming income support are invited to attend a voluntary meeting with a personal adviser. This meeting is known as a new deal for lone parents initial interview and so far 1,158,000 have been held.
	In April 2001 mandatory meetings for lone parents were introduced, known as work focused interviews. Work focused interviews are conducted at the outset of the benefit claim and at set points during the claim, usually six months, 12 months and then annually. The frequency can also depend on the age of the youngest child, and the lone parent's duration on benefit. For example, quarterly work focused interviews are currently being introduced nationally for lone parents who have been claiming income support for more than 12 months, and who have a youngest child aged 14 or 15.
	There have been 2,217,900 lone parent work focused interviews, the figures for each year and for the last 12 months are in the tables.
	
		Lone Parent Work Focused Interviews
		
			  Initial interviews 6 month review meetings Annual review meetings 
		
		
			 April 2001-March 2002 124,200 — — 
			 April 2002-March 2003 244,300 18,400 24,300 
			 April 2003-March 2004 388,100 56,200 82,800 
			 April 2004-March 2005 382,000 98,900 212,100 
			 April 2005-December 2005 303,500 83,600 199,500 
			 Total 1,442,200 257,100 518,700 
		
	
	
		Lone parent work focused interviews January to December 2005
		
			 As at 2005: Initial interviews 6 month review meetings Annual review meetings 
		
		
			 January 34,700 10,000 20,200 
			 February 34,900 9,500 22,100 
			 March 35,200 10,300 23,500 
			 April 31,900 9,800 19,300 
			 May 31,000 9,200 19,600 
			 June 33,200 9,300 23,600 
			 July 31,300 8,800 22,100 
			 August 37,300 9,600 20,600 
			 September 41,500 9,600 22,200 
			 October 35,700 9,500 24,000 
			 November 34,200 10,600 28,500 
			 December 27,400 7,200 19,500 
			 Total 408,300 113,400 265,200 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Figures refer to total number of work focused interviews attended.
	2.Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred; therefore the totals may not be a sum of the elements.
	Source:
	National Lone Parent Evaluation database (0512).

New Deal

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time was for a work-focused interview under the new deal for lone parents in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many benefit recipients who should have received such an interview have not received one.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the average waiting time for a lone parent work focused interview is not available. As we do not collect details on cases where an appointment is rearranged. However, 50 per cent. of lone parents attend their interview within seven days.
	A work focused interview is arranged for all new and repeat lone parent customers within days of making a new claim to benefit, as attendance at the interview forms part of their conditions for entitlement. Those lone parents who were already claiming benefit before the work focused interview regime was introduced (April 2001), and who are still claiming, are being brought into the regime over time with all lone parents being brought into the new regime by March 2006. At the end of February 2006, 22,500 lone parents in receipt of benefit in this category had not yet been brought into the new regime.

Pathways to Work

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what future role he envisages for the private and voluntary sectors in the provision of pathways to work services.

Margaret Hodge: To achieve our aspiration of an 80 per cent. employment rate the reach, expertise and flexibility that the private and voluntary sectors can provide will be key.
	Our current programmes for all client groups are delivered by providers from the voluntary and private sectors. This includes new deal for disabled people and pathways to work.
	As we set out in the recent Welfare Reform Green Paper, we want to continue to engage private and voluntary sector providers and will invite those providers to manage pathways to work services as we roll out the programme across the country.
	This will allow new and innovative approaches to be tested while ensuring that quality support is available to a wide range of claimants, delivered with maximum flexibility.

Poverty

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the evidential basis is for the change in the Government's definition of poverty from 50 to 60 per cent. of average income.

Margaret Hodge: There has been no change in the way low income is measured.
	The Government's first Child Poverty Spending Review 2002 public service agreement measure to reduce the number of children in poverty used 60 per cent. of median household income as the low income threshold. The Spending Review 2004 public service agreement measure also uses 60 per cent. of median household income.

Poverty

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of increasing either benefit or tax credit payments to levels which will bring all families with children below the poverty line to a position above the poverty line.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available.
	Our long-term strategy to meet the child poverty target is not based exclusively on increasing financial support for families. Evidence clearly shows that work is the best route out of poverty for those who are able to work and our strategy focuses on policies to enable parents to participate in the labour market, as well as providing financial support.
	The other element of the strategy is the delivery of excellent public services that improve the life chances ofchildren living in poverty and help break the cycle of deprivation. Our child poverty strategy is set out in Opportunity for All and in the Child Poverty Review, published alongside the 2004 Spending Review White Paper.

Poverty

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of children in families with (a) a lone parent, (b) married parents or step-parents and (c) cohabiting parents or step-parents are in poverty; and what research he has conducted on the equivalent figures in other (i) EU and (ii) G8 countries.

Margaret Hodge: Specific information on children living in low income households in Great Britain by family type is available in the latest publication of the Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2004–05". The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
	The data requested is in the table.
	
		Proportion of children by family type living in households with income less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median income, Great Britain, 2004–05
		
			  Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 Lone parent 39 43 
			 Married parents or married step-parents 15 19 
			 Co-habiting parents or co-habiting step-parents 23 29 
		
	
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey
	The Department for Work and Pensions provides low-income figures for lone parent and couple families in the UK to the EU. The Department has not carried out specific research on equivalent figures for EU or G8 countries.
	International comparisons are important because the Government aspire to be among the very best performers in Europe on child poverty, competing with the record of countries such as Sweden and Denmark. A focus on income before housing costs; as adopted in our Spending Review 2004 target; supports this, as this is used across other European Union countries.
	Measuring child poverty", published in December 2003, compares findings with our European Union counterparts. It showed that the UK had the highest child poverty rate in Europe in 1999 (29 per cent.) but, according to latest data for 2003, we are now closer to the EU average (23 per cent.). European comparisons are made using data from the European Household Panel Study, and are not comparable with figures using the Family Resources Survey. Data from 2003 remains the most up to date as this was the last year that data was produced for the UK using this dataset. UK comparisons across Europe will be measured using the European Union Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EUSILC) from autumn 2005.
	While we have not made comparisons across the G8 countries, Child Poverty in Rich Nations 2005", a UNICEF report on child poverty highlights the progress we have started to make in halving child poverty by 2010 and eliminating it by 2020. The report also showed that the UK has made more progress on reducing child poverty than any other country in the OECD in the years from 1991 to 2000.

Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of single people of working age who are living in poverty; what target he has set for reducing this proportion; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Specific information on working age adults living in low income households in Great Britain by family type is available in the latest publication of 'Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1994–95 to 2004–05'. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
	According to this measure, and before housing costs, 17 per cent. of single people of working age without children are living in poverty, compared to 29 per cent. of single people of working age with children. After housing costs, the proportions are 22 per cent. and 47 per cent. respectively.
	We do not have a specific target for this group as, overall, working age adults are less likely to be on relative low-income than children or pensioners. Our priorities reflect these facts and focus on the most vulnerable groups.

Single Parents (Benefits)

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the relative level of (a) in-work and (b) out-of-work benefits paid to single parents; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The exact level of in and out of work support that a lone parent will receive is dependent on their circumstances and income, including child support and housing tenure. These vary considerably among lone parents.
	Since 1997 the Government have made a number of improvements to the tax and benefit system to ensure that work pays. We have developed an effective strategy for helping more lone parents make the transition from benefits and into work which combines child care assistance, financial support for those entering work and provision of work focused advice and support.
	In 1998 we introduced the national minimum wage, which currently stands at £5.05 per hour for those aged 22 and over. The child and working tax credits introduced in April 2003 will help tackle child poverty and make work pay for all families, including lone parents.
	A lone parent with two children, moving into work on the national minimum wage, with child care costs of £80per week, will be financially better off by around £56per week. This could be increased by any child support maintenance received, as this is disregarded in full for tax credit purposes.
	Generally, a lone parent who is not in work can access all relevant benefits— though what they qualify for will depend on individual circumstances. The large majority of lone parents on benefit claim income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit. They will also receive child benefit. Their individual circumstances may also allow them to claim certain premiums within their income support entitlement, such as the disabled child or carer premiums. Being in receipt of income support also entitles them to free school meals for their children and free prescriptions and eye tests.

Voluntary Organisations

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with which voluntary organisations the Department has a formal national compact agreement.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale, East (Paul Goggins) on 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 107W.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, columns 449–50W, how many people attended A&E walk-in centres in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 in (i) England and (ii) the Countess of Chester hospital.

Liam Byrne: A&E Walk in Centres" describes data on all national health service walk in centres collected through Quarterly Monitoring of Key Standards and Targets: Accident and Emergency, England (QMAE). 1,381,841 and 2,031,430 attendances at NHS walk in centres were reported in England through the QMAE data set in 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively. Attendances are defined as visits to a walk in centre that result in the attender being seen by a clinician. There is not and never has been an NHS walk in centre at the Countess of Chester hospital so it is not possible to supply the data requested in respect of this service.

Advertising and Marketing Campaigns

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by her Department in 2005–06 on advising the NHS on advertising and marketing by individual hospitals.

Liam Byrne: To date, there has been no specific expenditure on advising the national health service on advertising and marketing by individual hospitals. The Department's advice to the NHS on this issue is contained within paragraphs 4.19–4.21 of The NHS in England: The operating framework for 2006–07", which was published on 26 January 2006.

Advertising and Marketing Campaigns

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much has been spent by the NHS in 2005–06 on advice and preparation for advertising and marketing campaigns for individual hospitals;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the amount to be spent on advertising and marketing by individual hospitals in 2006–07.

Liam Byrne: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Advertising and Marketing Campaigns

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, columns 454–55W, on departmental advertising campaigns, if she will list the amounts spent on the campaigns listed in each of the past five years.

Liam Byrne: The table shows the amount of expenditure on major information campaigns and advertising commissioned by the Department's communications directorate in the past five years.
	
		£ million
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Antibiotics — 0.44 0.44 0.42 — 
			 CALM — 0.05 0.13 — — 
			 Drugs 0.52 — 1.52 1.6 0.99 
			 Flu 2.02 1.45 2.0 1.6 1.5 
			 Hepatitis C — — — — — 
			 Immunisation — 0.67 1.0 2.0 0.05 
			 Mind Out — 0.13 0.16 — — 
			 National health service including nurse recruitment 4.9 5.00 4.23 4.9 5.84 
			 NHS Direct 0.21 1.08 0.58 0.75 — 
			 Organ donation 0.43 0.18 0.22 — — 
			 Prescription fraud 1.35 — 0.30 — — 
			 Sexwise/teenage pregnancy — 2.00 1.6 2.08 — 
			 Sexual Health — 0.3 1.5 1.5 1.26 
			 Social care recruitment — 0.83 1.24 4.62 2.14 
			 Smoking 8.97 7.79 7.87 17.76 24.00 
			 Tuberculosis awareness — 0.30 0.09 — — 
			 Walk-in centres 0.37 0.02 — — 0.20 
			 Winter (Get the right treatment, Ask about medicines day) 2.03 0.16 0.25 1.75 0.59 
			 Promoting new NHS services — — — — 0.85 
			 E111 — — — — 0.32 
			 Total 20.80 20.40 23.13 38.98 37.8

Advertising and Marketing Campaigns

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on radio advertising in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: We are unable to give figures for how much the national health service has spent on radio advertising in each of the past five years, as this information is not held centrally.
	The table shows how much the Department has spent on Departmental radio campaigns for the five years 2000–01 to 2004–05.
	
		
			  Amount spent on advertising (£) 
		
		
			 2000–01 3,074,277 
			 2001–02 2,271,833 
			 2002–03 2,032,252 
			 2003–04 2,124,034 
			 2004–05 3,744,051

Advertising and Marketing Campaigns

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 976W, on hospitals, when she expects to issue guidelines for advertising by hospitals.

Liam Byrne: All advertising should present accurate and fair information about services. No activity should be undertaken which undermines the reputation of the national health service. These initial principles to safeguard patients and the public are already set out in The NHS in England: the operating framework for 2006–07".
	The Department are now working with key stakeholders such as the NHS Confederation, the Foundation Trust Network, NHS Partners and the Healthcare Commission to develop further guidance, which will be published later in the year.

Ambulance Services

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will assess the performance of Tees, East and North Yorkshire ambulance service in meeting national standards for answering emergency calls in rural areas in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The table shows the response times by category of call for emergency incidents dealt with by the Tees, East and North Yorkshire ambulance service national health service trust (TENYAS) as a percentage for the past five years. In 2004–05, TENYAS exceeded the national performance requirements for responding to category A emergency incidents.
	
		Percentage
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Category A  
			 Within 8 minutes(39) 52.8 71.9 73.4 73.7 77.1 
			 Within 19 minutes(40) 96.4 97.8 97.6 97.9 98.5 
			   
			 Category B/C  
			 Within 19 minutes(41) 95.7 96.5 95.4 95.7 94.8a 
			  — — — — 94.8b 
		
	
	(39)Presenting conditions which may be immediately life threatening (category A) should be responded to within eight minutes irrespective of location in 75 per cent. of cases.
	(40)A fully equipped ambulance should attend incidents classified as category A within 14/19 minutes of the initial call, 95 per cent. of the time, unless the control room decides that an ambulance is not required.
	(41)Presenting conditions which may be serious (category B) should be responded to within 14 minutes (urban) or 19 minutes (rural) in 95 per cent. of cases.
	(42)Prior to 1 October 2004, it was also required that non-urgent (category C) calls received a response within 14 minutes (urban) or 19 minutes (rural) in 95 per cent. of cases. Since 1 October 2004, category C calls have been managed locally.
	Notes:
	(a) Category B/C calls in the period April 2004 to September 2004(43).
	(b) Category B calls in the period October 2004 to March 2005.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre return KA34.

Audiology

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce audiology waiting lists.

Liam Byrne: The modernising hearing aids programme introduced several initiatives to increase the capacity to deliver national health service audiology services. These included the national framework contract public private partnership to bring in additional independent sector capacity; the development of a new degree to help to address the shortage of audiologists and; the introduction of Hearing Direct to provide follow-up care and advice for some hearing aid users.

Audiology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1064W, to the hon. Member for Worthing, West (Peter Bottomley) on hearing services, how regularly she intends to publish the monthly commissioner-based data for waiting times and activity for pure tone audiometry; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Monthly commissioner-based data will be published. As with many new data collections, it may take a number of months of collection before the data are of sufficient quality to be publishable.

Audiology

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is collected from NHS trusts on waiting times for pure tone audiometry.

Liam Byrne: Since January 2006, the Department collects information monthly on the number of patients waiting for pure tone audiometry, by time band; and on the amount of activity carried out during the month. The Department plans to commence routine publication of this data from the spring to inform 18-week preparations.

Blind/Partially Sighted People

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what factors she took into account when deciding not to establish minimum entitlements to care for blind and partially sighted people; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to increase the number of (a) rehabilitation workers for blind and partially sighted people and (b) training providers for such rehabilitation workers;
	(3)  how much local authorities in England spent on services for blind and partially sighted people in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 15 March 2006
	In making decisions about provision of social care, blind and partially sighted people are treated the same as any other potential user of services. Care for all individuals is determined, based on assessment of need, local eligibility criteria and the local provision of services.
	Rehabilitation services for blind and partially sighted people are provided by local health and social care bodies. The Department has given the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, in collaboration with other employers, through Skills for Care, £30,000 to redesign hybrid rehabilitation functions in work with visually impaired people. It is, however, the responsibility of local authorities and health trusts to ensure they have an adequate number of trained people to deliver rehabilitation services to the blind and partially sighted people in their area.
	The information on how much local authorities in England spent on services for blind and partially sighted people in each of the last five years, is not held centrally.

Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist cancer nurses are working in the NHS.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 13 March 2006
	This information is not collected centrally.
	Cancer nurses were not separately identified from the rest of the nursing workforce.

Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will commission a public awareness campaign on (a) cancer risk factors and lifestyle choices and (b) the signs and symptoms of cancer.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 March 2006
	We are not planning to commission a national campaign, as this is not the most effective method to encourage people to either change their lifestyle choices, or seek medical help if they have symptoms of cancer. Local campaigns targeted at people at greatest risk of developing cancer have been shown to be more effective, and we are working with the national health service, charitable organisations and experts in social marketing approaches to develop local pilots.

Care Closer to Home

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a representative from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was invited to sit on the care closer to home demonstration group.

Liam Byrne: A representative from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was not invited to sit on the care closer to home demonstration group as membership of this group was limited in number to maintain focus.
	However, there will be other opportunities, for groups not represented on the demonstration group to participate in the care closer to home work.

Care Treatment Centres

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the difference between a minor injuries unit and an urgent care centre.

Liam Byrne: Minor injuries units (MIUs) provide care for non-life threatening injuries. Urgent care centres (UCCs) aim to provide integrated care for non-life threatening injury and illness. Both MIUs and UCCs are usually led by experienced nurses or general practitioners. Services may be sited in the community or co-located with a major accident and emergency.

Care Treatment Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attendances there were at (a) minor injuries units and (b) NHS walk in centres in the quarter ending December 2005.

Liam Byrne: In the quarter ending December 2005, national health service trusts and primary care trusts in England reported 484,321 attendances at minor injury units and 614,993 attendances at NHS walk-in centres.
	Source:
	QMAE

Carers

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on sharing good practice in the implementation of the Carers Equal Opportunities Act 2004.

Liam Byrne: None. However, the Department is committed to ensuring that good practice is captured and that local authorities in England as well as their counterparts in the devolved administrations are able to learn from it. This is why we commissioned the social care institute for excellence (SCIE) to produce a practice guide to the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004.
	SCIE aims to improve the experience of people who use social care by developing and promoting knowledge about good practice. The guide translates what is known from research and policy into recommendations for practice and is available on their website at: www.scie.org.uk/publications/ipracticeguides/carersguidance/index.asp.

Cerebral Palsy

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been to the national health service oftreatment for cerebral palsy in each of the last 20 years.

Liam Byrne: Information on the cost to the national health service of specific conditions, including cerebral palsy, is not collected.

Choose and Book

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of patients using the Choose and Book System have chosen not to use their local provider;
	(2)  how many patients have been booked into out-patient appointments via the Choose and Book system since April 2005.

Liam Byrne: Information on patients' choice of provider is not collected centrally.
	Over 142,000 new bookings have been made via the Choose and Book service. The majority of these are for out-patient appointments.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria were used to assess the performance of the Citizens Advice Bureau in its delivery of the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service; and whether this criteria will be applied to other contractors.

Rosie Winterton: Under the current contract, due to expire on 31 March 2006, performance is assessed in the same way across all service providers.
	The Department has conducted a rigorous procurement exercise for delivery of the new contracts which will start on 1 April 2006. Organisations were required to submit bids against a detailed specification setting out our requirements, including performance assessment criteria that differed from the original contract. The successful organisations submitted bids which more closely matched the Department's requirements and offered better value for money than the bid submitted by the Citizens Advice Bureau. All successful contractors have been delivering independent complaints advocacy service under contract to the Department since 1 September 2003, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in general and specialist advocacy service delivery.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she received in connection with the decision to (a) end the Citizens Advice Bureau's contract in the North West to provide the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service and (b) withdraw support from this model of service delivery.

Liam Byrne: The Department conducted a rigorous procurement exercise in which organisations were required to submit bids against a detailed specification setting out our requirements that differed from the original contract. The new independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) specification, which was produced after extensive stakeholder consultation and which builds on all that has been learned over the life of the existing contracts, will ensure the provision of a high quality, client centred, flexible service which operates to national standards. The successful organisations submitted bids which more closely matched the Department's requirements and offered better value for money than the bid submitted by the Citizens Advice Bureau. All successful contractors have been delivering independent complaints advocacy service under contract to the Department since 1 September 2003, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in general and specialist advocacy service delivery.

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the decision was taken to end the contract to Citizens Advice Bureau in the North West for the provision of the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service.

Liam Byrne: After an extensive procurement exercise which included a series of meetings with the citizens advice central management team the decision was made on 16 December 2005 not to offer the independent complaints advocacy service contract for the North West to the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Common Assessment Framework

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to introduce a common assessment framework as described at paragraph 5.26 of the White Paper 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say'; and what the differences are between the common assessment framework and the single assessment process.

Liam Byrne: Work to develop a common assessment framework is at an early stage. We envisage building on, rather than replacing, the existing single assessment process for older people in order to make it applicable to other client groups.

Community Hospitals

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the likely change in the workload of Kingston Hospital if Surbiton Community Hospital is closed.

Jane Kennedy: The South West London Strategic Health Authority have advised that, inpatient beds, which were at Surbiton Hospital, were successfully transferred at the end of November 2005 and are currently provided on the Tolworth Hospital site (intermediate care) and in a local nursing home (continuing care). These arrangements would remain in place if Surbiton Hospital were to be closed. Kingston Primary Care Trust (PCT) is currently examining the potential for continuing the provision of outpatient services at Surbiton Hospital, prior to a decision being made at the PCT board meeting on 7 April. This includes an assessment of the potential impact upon Kingston Hospital.

Community Hospitals

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the numberof beds available in community hospitals in (a) Kingston and Surbiton, (b) South West London and (c) London.

Jane Kennedy: The Department collects data on the number of available and occupied hospital beds from trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs). Trusts and PCTs are not required to submit their data on an individual hospital basis. Aggregated data by trust or PCT are available on the Department's website for hospital activity at:
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/data_requests/beds_open_overnight.htm

Continuing Care (Funding)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what procedures she has put in place to ensure that (a) community care nurses, (b) social workers and (c) review panels observe her directive of 3 March requiring (i) them to be familiar with and (ii)act in accordance with the implications of judgments in the Coughlan and Grogan cases relating to the funding of continuing NHS care;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to ensure that all refusals of fully-funded NHS continuing care prior to 3 March are re-considered in light of her directive of that date;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS of implementing her directive of 3 March on NHS continuing care with retrospective effect.

Liam Byrne: Department guidance to strategic health authorities following the Grogan" judgment makes it clear that it is their responsibility to ensure that their continuing care eligibility criteria and assessment processes are operating in line with legal rulings. Strategic health authorities are required to disseminate guidance internally, and satisfy themselves that correct procedures are being followed.
	If a strategic health authority revises its eligibility criteria or processes following legal advice in light of the Grogan" judgment, the guidance requires strategic health authorities to determine, based on local circumstances, which individuals or groups of individuals may be at highest risk of having been wrongly assessed. It is the responsibility of the health authority to assess potential for any changes to impact on individuals and act accordingly. The Department cannot pre-judge the outcome of strategic health authorities taking legal advice regarding the lawfulness of their continuing care processes.

Deaf-blind People

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to review the operation of the statutory guidance for the social care of deafblind children and adults in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: We have no plans to review the operation of the statutory guidance for the social care of deafblind children and adults in England and Wales. It is the responsibility of councils to identify the number of deafblind people in their area and provide services to meet their assessed needs.

Dentistry

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are (a) registered and (b) not registered with an NHS dentist in the Easington primary care trust area.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. Information on the number of people not registered with a national health service dentist is not collected centrally. However the number ofgeneral dental service and personal dental service patients seen as at 30 November 2005 was 42,458. An estimate of the percentage of patients registered with an NHS dentist in the Easington primary care trust area is shown in the table.
	The proportion of people registered within the Easington primary care trust as at November 2005 (last available data) was 46 per cent. (estimated).
	
		General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS)
		
			  Easington PCT Estimate of the percentage patients registered(44) 
		
		
			 Adults 44 
			 Children 50 
			 All 46 
		
	
	(44)Using population estimates at 2004.
	Notes:
	1.The percentages of the population registered with a dentist, or registration rate, have been estimated by including patient registrations in the area of the dentist, that is according to the postcode of the dental surgery and not the patient's address. So the registration rates for some areas may be affected by some patients receiving dental treatment in a different area from the one in which they live.
	2.Estimates have been calculated using population estimates for the nearest year for which data are available. 2005 percentages have been calculated using 2004 mid-year population estimates.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Dentistry

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists from each EU accession country are practising in England; and what estimate she has made of how many have returned to their country of origin in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the numbers of general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) dentists and numbers of complete leavers 1 by country of qualification, of the 10 countries that joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, in England as at 30 September 2005.
	
		
			 Country GDS and PDS dentists Complete leaver(45) 
		
		
			 Czech Republic 7 0 
			 Cyprus 0 0 
			 Estonia 0 0 
			 Hungary 0 0 
			 Latvia 6 0 
			 Lithuania 0 0 
			 Malta 6 1 
			 Poland 341 0 
			 Slovakia 0 0 
			 Slovenia 0 0 
		
	
	(45)Complete leaver means the dentist had an open GDS or PDS contract in September 2004 but no GDS or PDS contract in September 2005.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre
	Data on the destination of dentists leaving the GDS or PDS are not held centrally.

Dentistry

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time NHS dentists there were in (i) Essex and (ii) England in each of the last five years; and how many dentists there were in (A) Essex and (B) England per thousand head of population in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 17 March 2006
	The numbers broken down by full-time and part-time are not available.
	The total numbers of national health service dentists with a general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) contract, and dentists per 1,000 population, in England and in Essex Strategic Health Authority (SHA) as at 30 September each year are shown in the table. Information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual GDS or PDS dentists is not centrally available.
	
		England
		
			  Number of GDS and PDS dentists Dentists per 1,000 population 
		
		
			 2001 18,722 0.38 
			 2002 18,946 0.38 
			 2003 19,260 0.39 
			 2004 19,722 0.39 
			 2005 20,890 0.42 
		
	
	
		Essex SHA
		
			  Number of GDS and PDS dentists Dentists per 1,000 population 
		
		
			 2001 590 0.37 
			 2002 566 0.35 
			 2003 574 0.35 
			 2004 595 0.36 
			 2005 662 0.40 
		
	
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre

Departmental Vehicles

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cars are (a) owned and (b) leased by her Department; what models the cars are; what type of petrol each model requires; and what the fuel efficiency is of each model.

Liam Byrne: The Department currently owns three vehicles, and leases two vehicles which is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Make Model Fuel type and MPG Owned/ leased 
		
		
			 Ford Mondeo Duratorq GHIA Diesel Owned 
			 Nissan Almera SVE Diesel Owned 
			 Peugeot 307 Rapier HDI Diesel Owned 
			 Volkswagen Golf MK5 D GT TDI EU IV Diesel Leased 
			 Citroen Xsara Picasso SX 1.61 Diesel Leased 
		
	
	Data on fuel efficiency is provided by the Vehicle Certification Agency and is published on their website at www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk

Diabetes

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with diabetes in each constituency in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 10 March 2006.
	The information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows all diagnoses count of patients for diabetes from 2001–01 to 2004–05.
	
		All diagnoses count of patients for diabetes (ICD-10 codes E10–E14) NHS Hospitals England, 2000–01 to 2004–05
		
			  Primary care trust 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 5CC Blackburn and Darwen PCT 909 1,036 1,042 1,122 1,301 
			 5D4 Carlisle District PCT 476 550 616 779 889 
			 5D5 Eden Valley PCT 265 316 363 434 506 
			 5D6 West Cumbria PCT 572 747 1,010 1,398 1,434 
			 5DD Morecombe Bay PCT 1,575 1,808 2,092 2,354 2,740 
			 5F2 Chorely and South Ribble PCT 1,494 1,697 1,707 1,724 1,684 
			 5F3 West Lancashire PCT 803 817 844 887 956 
			 5G7 Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT 599 657 760 782 892 
			 5G8 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT 1,977 2,193 2,357 2,439 2,483 
			 5HD Preston PCT 1,178 1,285 1,351 1,307 1,166 
			 5HE Fylde PCT 340 409 522 527 558 
			 5HF Wyre PCT 611 739 810 955 1,035 
			 5HP Blackpool PCT 844 984 1,171 1,277 1,245 
		
	
	Notes:
	Patient counts:
	Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier Hospital Episode Statistics identification (HESID). This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and NHS number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.
	All diagnoses count of patients:
	These figures represent a count of all patients where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record.
	Diagnosis (primary diagnosis):
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	Secondary diagnoses:
	As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002–03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.
	Primary care trust (PCI) and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002–03 boundaries, as a one- off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996–97, 1997–98 and 1998–99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997–98 and 1998–99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.
	Ungrossed data:
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre

Domiciliary Oxygen

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual cost was of providing a domiciliary oxygen service through the community pharmacy network in each of the past four years.

Jane Kennedy: Figures for 2005–06 are not yet available. For the previous three years, the total annual costs reimbursed to pharmacy contractors and some dispensing doctors for the domiciliary cylinder oxygen service were:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2002–03 28,300,590 
			 2003–04 31,081,087 
			 2004–05 32,809,514

Domiciliary Oxygen

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of requests for home oxygen supplies were emergency requests in (a) England and (b) the North West in the last period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: Before 1 February 2006, there was no requirement to supply oxygen on an emergency basis. This is a specific requirement in the new service contract introduced on that date. Information on the number of such requests is not held centrally. It is included in data provided to primary care trusts as part of financial and performance management of the contract.

Hospital Transport

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State forHealth what provision is made for transport from home to hospital of (a) severely disabled people and (b) severely disabled people where the carer is unable to drive.

Liam Byrne: The publication Ambulance and other patient transport services: Operation, use and performance standards" provides guidance on the eligibility criteria for patient transport services (PTS) and is available in the Library. This document states that medical need for non-emergency patient transport must be determined by a doctor, dentist or midwife and will depend upon the medical condition of the individual patient, the availability of private or public transport and distance to be travelled. The principle which should apply is that each patient should be able to reach hospital in a reasonable time and in reasonable comfort, without detriment to their medical condition.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for ensuring that there is provision of ambulance services (which could include patient transport services) to such extent as they consider necessary to meet all reasonable requirements. Therefore, it is for the local national health service to decide who provides patient transport services for eligible patients in their area. PCTs should apply the principles outlined in the aforementioned publication to consider each case on its merits or to develop local criteria for patient transport services use. The White Paper Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services" signals our intent to broaden eligibility to patients referred for treatment in out of hospital settings, and during 2006–07 we will update guidance on eligibility for PTS to reflect the changes outlined in the White Paper.
	Patients that do not have a medical need for ambulance transport and who are on low incomes, or in receipt of benefits or tax credits, may be eligible for reimbursement of their travel expenses under the hospital travel costs scheme.

Hospital Transport

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial penalties can be applied to home oxygen providers who do not meet the terms of their contracts.

Jane Kennedy: The Department can terminate the contract of any supplier who breaches material terms of their contract, and require the outgoing supplier to meet the costs incurred where another supplier is brought in to provide the service. Where the service delivery fails to meet the standards set out in the contract, the supplier may be required to re-perform those services.

Hospital Transport

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the regional suppliers for the home oxygen service.

Jane Kennedy: Linde Gas UK is the supplier for the North East oxygen service region. Air Products is the supplier for the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, East Midlands, West Midlands, North London and South West oxygen service regions. Allied Respiratory is the supplier for regions covering South London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. BOC Medical is the supplier in the Eastern service region. This information is published in part X of the drug tariff, which is also available on the prescription pricing authority's website (www.ppa.org.uk) and the home oxygen section of the national health service primary care contracting website (www.primarycarecontracting.nhs.uk).

Hospital Transport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the new arrangements for the domiciliary supply of oxygen products to patients.

Jane Kennedy: There has been disruption to the planned six-month programme, which began on 1 February 2006, to support the transfer of patients receiving home oxygen supplies to new suppliers. We have already taken action to get that planned programme back on track and we are continuing to work with the national health service and suppliers to monitor progress. When fully introduced, the new arrangements will provide a modern service to patients with improved access to a wider range of oxygen equipment that can do much to improve their quality of life.

Hospital Transport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from the medical profession since the introduction of new arrangements for the domiciliary supply of oxygen products to patients.

Jane Kennedy: Representatives of the medical profession were included in consultation on the development of the new service. Since introduction of the new arrangements on 1 February 2006, we have continued discussions with them on plans to transfer patients to the new suppliers by August 2006.

Elderly Care Provision

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1) what assessment she has made of the level of mental stimulation provided for elderly people who are cared for (a) by relatives and (b) in residential accommodation; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will take steps to ensure that elderly people (a) in their own homes and (b) in residential accommodation have free access to companionship and social interaction.

Liam Byrne: The rights of older people in residential accommodation to enjoy mental stimulus, companionship and social interaction are covered in the existing CareHomes for Older People—National Minimum Standards", a copy of which is available in the Library. The Commission for Social Care Inspection inspects homes against the national minimum standards (NMS), when assessing compliance with the Care Homes Regulations 2001. The NMS address the topic from various perspectives, including the rights of service users to engage in social and community activities and interests, meeting and maintaining contact with friends and family, religious or cultural requirements, the suitability of residential home premises and the social value of meals and mealtimes.
	Since October 2004, the Government have been engaged in a review of the NMS and the associated legislative framework for adult social care. The review is a key element in the modernisation of social care regulation and will update the statutory framework for which the Government are responsible.

Elderly Care Provision

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost of providing free long-term care for elderly people.

Liam Byrne: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman) 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2701W.

Expert Patient Programme

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has paid (a) Kate Lorig and (b) Stanford university for the use of the Expert Patient Programme for the Chronically Ill.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 March 2006
	In 2002, the Department paid a single payment of approximately £72,000 to Stanford university for an unlimited use licence for the national health service and local authorities to practice the chronic disease self management course (CDSMC). Kate Lorig is head of the Patient Education Research Centre at Stanford university which led the development of the CDSMC and has received no separate payment. This licence to date has enabled 30,000 people with long-term health conditions in England to benefit from the chronic disease self-management course.

Failing Hospitals

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under the health reform in England proposals, whether the (a) geographical distance and (b) quality of transport links to alternative effective hospitals will be taken into account in the decision over whether a failing hospital is to be required to close.

Jane Kennedy: Making decisions on local health care provision, including the closure of hospitals, is a matter for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities in consultation with the local population and its representatives. To support the consultation and decision making process the Department has issued two guidance documents:
	Strengthening Accountability: Involving Patients and the Public—Policy Guidance Section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001" (February 2003).
	Overview and Scrutiny of Health—Guidance" (July 2003).
	The recently published document, Health Reform in England: Update and Next Steps" does not make specific mention of the issues that national health service organisations should take into account when deciding whether a failing hospital is to be required to close.

Food Allergies

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been admitted to hospital due to allergic reactions to (a) nuts and (b) milk in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: While hospital episode statistics contains details of patients admitted to, and treated in, hospital for food allergies, it is not possible to distinguish from the data how many of these admissions were as a result of an allergic reaction to nuts or milk.

Foundation Trusts

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether foundation hospital trusts have a veto over who may be (a) nominated and (b) proposed by a local authority for appointment to such trusts.

Liam Byrne: Schedule 1, paragraph 9(4) of the Health and Social Care Act 2003 allows for a qualifying local authority to appoint a governor to an national health service foundation trust. The NHS foundation trust has no veto on who may be nominated nor appointed, provided the person concerned is not excluded by conditions set out in statute or the NHS foundation trust's constitution.

General Practitioners

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average take-home pay was for general practitioners in (a) England and (b) West Lancashire in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information on the average take-home pay for general practitioners in England and West Lancashire is not collected centrally. However, figures based on information for Great Britain are available, which is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Intended average net remuneration/income (£) 
		
		
			 1994–95 41,890 
			 1995–96 43,165 
			 1996–97 44,483 
			 1997–98 46,031 
			 1998–99 48,037 
			 1999–2000 52,606 
			 2000–01 54,219 
			 2001–02 56,510 
			 2002–03 61,618 
			 2003–04(46) 67,040 
		
	
	(46)Forecast figures

General Practitioners

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to paragraph 3.22 of Our health, Our care, Our say", how many and what percentage of general practitioner practice lists are open but full; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The new general medical services contract provides for practice patient lists to be either open or closed to new registrations. The Department does not therefore hold information of the number of practices who are claiming to have lists which are open but full. However, we do recognise that some practices may face capacity pressures and don't accept new registrations although they are not formally closed. The recent White Paper commits us to improving the closed list arrangements so that there is clarity for patients on whether a practice is open for new registrations. We intend to work with the NHS Employers and the British Medical Association to deliver that commitment.

Greater Manchester PCTs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the Greater Manchester primary care trusts' decision to end the 'in perpetuity' dowry agreements with local authorities and the political impact of the decision on social services budgets in the county;
	(2)  what discussions her Department has had with primary care trusts in Greater Manchester on their decision to end the 'in perpetuity' dowry agreements with local authorities.

Liam Byrne: The Department has not had discussions with any primary care trust (PCT) in the Greater Manchester strategic health authority area regarding dowry agreements with local authorities and has made no assessment of any PCT decision in respect of this matter. It is for local authorities and national health service providers to determine the best way to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities in their population.
	The Department has supported more sustainable partnership funding arrangements through section 31 of the Health Act (1999) flexibilities, which created the provision for a strategic transfer of funding for the population as a whole. The NHS block transfers its funding in return for the local authority taking a lead commissioning role that includes covering people who formerly lived in a long stay hospital.
	PCTs should continue to transfer to local authorities funding associated with people who used to live in long stay hospitals.

Health Professionals (Training Costs)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost to the public purse of training (a) doctors and (b) dentists in the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: In 2005–06, £725 million was provided to meet the clinical cost of training doctors. We estimate that, in 2005–06 that the clinical cost of training some 3,500 dental undergraduates in dental schools in England was £62 million net of tuition fees. The Higher Education Funding Council for England meets academic costs for both, but this information is not collected centrally.

Health Reform in England; Update and Next Steps"

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of the proposed NHS reforms outlined in 'Health Reform in England; update and next steps', whether the (a) general practitioner (b) primary care trust and (c) hospital will decide whether or not to admit a patient to hospital for treatment.

Liam Byrne: Under the framework of reforms outlined in Health reform in England", general practitioners (GPs) will remain responsible for deciding whether to refer a patient to hospital. Hospital doctors will continue to be responsible for taking clinical decisions to admit for treatment and will also continue to decide whether to admit in cases of emergencies.
	GPs, primary care trusts and national health service trusts will work together to ensure patients have access to high quality services in the most appropriate and convenient setting.

Health Service Management

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) chairmen, (b) chief executive officers, (c) financial directors and (d) medical and health directors have (i) been sacked and (ii) resigned before the end of their contractual term in (A) 2005–06 and (B) each of the three preceding financial years; which trust or health authority was involved in each case; and what level of compensation was paid in each case where this was applicable.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available centrally.
	Secretary of State has delegated her appointments functions relating to Chairmen of national health service organisations to the NHS Appointments Commission.
	I have asked the NHS Appointments Commission to write to the hon. Member directly regarding information about Chairmen.

Health Service Management

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) NHS trusts and (b) health authorities (i) are operating and (ii) have operated in the last three financial years with acting or seconded (A)directors and (B) senior executives.

Liam Byrne: This information is not collected centrally.

Health Services

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people diagnosed with diabetes there were in Hyndburn in (a) 1997 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information relating to the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust (PCT) data is shown in the table.
	
		All diagnoses count of patients for diabetes: Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT, national health service hospitals England—1997–98 and 2004–05
		
			  Patient counts 
		
		
			 1997–98 609 
			 2004–05 892 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Patient counts
	Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier Hospital Episode Statistic identification (HESID). This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and NHS number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.
	2. All diagnoses count of patients
	These figures represent a count of all patients where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistic (HES) record.
	3. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	4. Secondary diagnoses
	As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002–03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.
	5. Primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality
	PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002–03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996–97, 1997–98 and 1998–99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997–98 and 1998–99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.
	6. Ungrossed data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data is ungrossed.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre

Health Services

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated for sexually transmitted infections in Hyndburn in (a) 1997 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information relating to the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley primary care trust data is shown in the following table.
	
		Count of patients—primary diagnosis STDs, HIV/AIDS—Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT. National health service hospitals England, 1997–98 and 2004–05
		
			  Patient counts 
		
		
			 1997–98 14 
			 2004–05 11 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Patient counts:
	Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier hospital episode statistic identification (HESID). This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and NHS number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.
	2. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis):
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	3. Primary care trust (PCT and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality:
	PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002–03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996–97, 1997–98 and 1998–99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997–98 and 1998–99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.
	4. Ungrossed data:
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is the data is ungrossed.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre

Health Services

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding the Department has provided to (a) Wakefield West Primary Care Trust and (b) the NHS for dental services in each year from 1997 to 2005.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 27 February 2006
	The main element of national health service dental services are the primary dental care services provided by dentists working within the general dental services (GDS), or personal dental services (PDS) pilots. Gross and net expenditure on the GDS is shown in table1. The table also includes gross expenditure on PDS pilots, but it is not possible to provide similar data for net PDS expenditure as patient charge income is not separately identified in NHS accounts. Based on estimates from Dental Practice Board (DPB) payments data, we estimate that PDS expenditure in 2004–05 net of patient charge income was around £240 million.
	
		Table 1: Expenditure on GDS and PDS, England -- £ million
		
			  Gross GDS(47) Net GDS(48) Gross PDS(49) 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,348 959 0 
			 1998–99 1,438 1,018 4 
			 1999–2000 1,477 1,046 13 
			 2000–01 1,561 1,109 22 
			 2001–02 1,638 1,166 36 
			 2002–03 1,709 1,222 41 
			 2003–04 1,767 1,283 48 
			 2004–05 1,671 1,246 (50)280 
		
	
	(47)Expenditure data for 1997–98 to 1999–2000 are based on cash data in Appropriation Accounts. Data from 2000–01 onwards are based on the relevant resource accounts data from health authorities and primary care trusts (PCTs). This is to reflect the change in Department's accountancy practices.
	(48)Net expenditure represents the cost of the service after taking account of dental charge income collected from patients.
	(49)NHS accounts data up to 2004–05 do not separately identify all elements of PDS gross expenditure. See note 4 for 2004–05 data.
	(50)An estimate of gross PDS expenditure based on payments data obtained from the DPB.
	The level of expenditure on hospital and community dental services is decided at local level by PCTs.
	GDS is currently a non-discretionary service funded from a national budget where expenditure is mainly determined by the volume of NHS work that dentists choose to undertake. Local budget allocations are not assigned to individual PCTs. Data on the level of expenditure within the area of the Wakefield West PCT, drawn from payments data obtained from the DPB, are shown in table 2. Payment data are only attributable to individual PCT areas from 2000–01 onwards.
	
		Table 2: GDS and PDS dental payments within Wakefield West PCT -- £ million
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Gross GDS and PDS payments(51)(5508980052)(53) 4.642 5.211 5.125 5.456 6.047 
			 Net GDS and PDS payments(54) 3.08 3.626 3.533 3.861 4.657 
		
	
	(51)Gross GDS payments include adult fees (including item of service and continuing care payments), child fees (including item of service and capitation payments), commitment payments and point of treatment check payment training (in 2001 only), seniority payments, maternity/paternity/adoptive leave payments, long-term sick leave payments, continuing professional development allowances including travel hours, reimbursement of business rates, vocational training grants, vocational trainee salaries and NI contribution costs, clinical audit convenors, clinical audit payments, clinical audit secretarial support and travel expenses. Employer's superannuation costs are excluded.
	(52)PDS payment data are included for 2004–05 only and relate to baseline payments or the agreed regular monthly payments made to PDS practices. Reliable PDS data at practice level are not available prior to 2004–05. The data cannot identify the cost of any PDS services that may be provided in Wakefield West that are directly managed by local NHS trusts, such as certain dental access centres.
	(53)Payments are assigned to PCT area on the basis of practice postcode data.
	(54)Net payments represent the balance of payments due after taking account of NHS dental charge income collected from patients by dental practices.

Health Trainers

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State forHealth 
	(1)  how many health trainers are employed inthe NHS; what minimum qualifications are required for the post; and at what rate of salary they are employed;
	(2)  how many health trainers she estimates will be employed in the NHS when the proposals in her recent White Paper on Community Services (Cm 6737) are fully implemented; and what the total annual cost to public funds will be of employing them.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 February 2006
	As was announced to Parliament on 20 July 2005
	Primary care trusts and their partners, especially the spearhead primary care trusts, are planning to recruit, train, and fund health trainers from April 2006 when this funding comes on stream."
	The national health service health trainer programme is in the early adopter phase, comprising some 150 primary care trusts (PCTs) including all 88 spearhead PCTs.
	There are currently 214 NHS health trainers recruited to the programme, of which 192 are now under, or have completed, training.
	Choosing health money has been allocated to provide 1,200 NHS health trainers by the end of financial year 2006–07.
	The employment requirements are that health trainers satisfy the mandatory core competences supplied by the Department. The core competences are being finalised during the early adopter phase which finishes 31 March 2006.
	Currently the national profile for a health trainer under agenda for change is being agreed, once it is finalised there will be a clear rate of salary for health trainers.
	Salary is still under negotiation through the agenda for change process.
	A breakdown of where the money has been spent and cost centres is shown in the table.
	
		NHS health trainers provision and expenditure -- £ million
		
			  Provision 
			  2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 Securing health care for those who need it 5.00 — — 
			 PCT allocations — 36.00 77.00 
			 Securing social care and child protection for those who need it and, at national level, protecting, promoting and improving the nation's health 2.20 2.0 2.0

Health White Paper

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons her Department needs to manage the procurement of primary care medical services on behalf of primary care trusts as described in paragraph 3.46 of the White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say.

Liam Byrne: The Department will be managing the fairness in primary care procurement to enable primary care trusts in areas with longstanding problems in health care provision to have access to the Departments expertise and experience in national procurements.

Health White Paper

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which six primary care trusts her Department is assisting in the procurement of primary care medical services as described in paragraph 3.37, of the White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, with which suppliers the primary care trusts are in negotiation to provide primary care medical services; what the average cost is of a general practitioner consultation (a) provided by the suppliers with which primary care trusts are in negotiation and (b) in the NHS as a whole; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The six primary care trusts (PCTs) taking part in the innovation in primary care contracting programme are:
	Barking and Dagenham PCT
	City and Hackney Teaching PCT
	Hyndeburn and Ribble Valley PCT
	South Sefton PCT
	Bradford City Teaching PCT
	Plymouth Teaching PCT
	As the procurement process is still underway it is not possible to provide details about any of the provider organisations that the PCTs may be in discussion with as part of this programme.
	Information on the average cost of a general practitioner consultation are not routinely collected centrally.

Herceptin

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will issue guidance to primary care trusts that social factors should not be used to decide whether women with HER-2 positive early stage breast cancer should be prescribed Herceptin if they are patients for whom it would otherwise be clinically appropriate treatment.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 17 March 2006
	It would not be appropriate for Ministers to dictate, or prejudge, the factors that might properly be taken into account by a primary care trust in assessing each case, beyond advising against refusals solely on the grounds of cost.
	We have no plans to issue any guidance on this matter.

Insulin

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is being provided to diabetic patients dependent on animal insulins from health care professionals on the availability of pork and beef insulins following the announcement by Novo Nordisk that it is discontinuing its pork insulin products; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Department has been in discussion with Novo Nordisk about the discontinuation of its animal insulins. The company has put in place a comprehensive support and communications package for health care professionals and patients. Wockhardt, the remaining United Kingdom supplier, has also re-affirmed its commitment to continue supplying its animal insulins and has issued a statement to health care professionals and others. Health care professionals will therefore be able to communicate the changes to patients.

Learning Disabilities

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effect of the Valuing People initiative on the services provided to people with learning difficulties; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what her latest estimate is of the number of people with learning difficulties (a) who have been assessed as needing support and (b) who have not received the assessed support from district care trusts in (i) Bradford district, (ii) Yorkshire and (iii) England in a one-year period;
	(3)  how much has been given to primary care trusts in (a) Bradford district, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England to provide support for people with learning disabilities in each of the last eight years.

Liam Byrne: The Government's third report on learning disability, Valuing People: Making things better" was published in November 2005. The report details what the Government has done during 2004 for people with learning disabilities and also details what our next steps will be. This is available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/38/69/04123869.pdf
	The number of people with learning difficulties who have been assessed as needing support is not held centrally.
	The learning disability development fund (LDDF) was introduced in 2002–03. Revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) from the LDDF are shown in the table.
	From 2003–04 to 2005–06 LDDF capital allocations of £20 million per annum were made as part of strategic capital allocations to strategic health authorities (SHAs). The LDDF is not separately identified in SHA capital allocations.
	The LDDF is only a small part of the funding available to PCTs for learning disabilities services. PCTs also have money available to them through specialist budgets, continuing care budgets and their mainstream budgets for example, where they can draw funding from to fund learning disabilities services. It is up to PCTs to decide how they allocate funds.
	
		£000
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Bradford district(55) 183 188 193 407 
			 Yorkshire(56) 1,763 1,927 1.973 4,138 
			 England 19,598 21,052 19,232 41,595 
		
	
	(55)Bradford district is defined as Bradford Health Authority for 2002–03 and Airedale PCT, Bradford City PCT, Bradford South and West PCT and North Bradford PCT for 2003–04 onwards
	(56)Yorkshire is defined as North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA), South Yorkshire SHA and West Yorkshire SHA.

Learning Disabilities

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will bring forward proposals to make the provision of respite care for people with learning disabilities a statutory duty of local authorities.

Liam Byrne: This Government introduced the Carers Grant in 1999 to support councils in providing breaks and services for carers in England, including those who support people with learning disabilities. The grant has increased each year and has provided an extra £635 million over the past six years. We have confirmed that it will be worth £185 million in 2006–07 and in 2007–08. This will mean that, by 2008, we will have invested over £l billion in services and support for carers of all groups.
	In addition, we have listened to the considerable public support for carers throughout our extensive consultation process prior to the publication of the white paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say". As a result, we propose to offer a new deal for carers to improve support for them through a range of measures. This will include ensuring that a short-term, home based respite support to all carers in crisis or emergency situations is established in each council's area.

Long-range Capacity Planning

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has issued to strategic health authorities on long-range capacity planning.

Jane Kennedy: A range of guidance was issued to strategic health authorities (SHAs) for the period 2006–07 to 2007–08. These include guidance on capacity planning and local delivery plans.
	The Department has also issued guidance on Developing an Estate Strategy" to achieve future service requirements; and on how to prepare a strategic service development plan for primary and community based health services for use by primary care trusts.
	Copies of guidance is available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk.

Malawi

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) consultants, (b) doctors, (c) nurses and (d) dentists from Malawi were working in the NHS in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information is not available centrally on the country of origin of national health service staff. The General Medical Council, General Dental Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council, hold information on the country of qualification of each person on their respective registers but not the country of origin.

Matrons

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) full-time equivalent and (b) headcount community matrons have been employed in the NHS in each month since June 2004.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the outcomes of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) consultation MLX 322 on fees published on 6 March 2006, when she expects the MHRA to discuss with industry associations how best to improve levels of (a) service, (b) communication and (c) monitoring.

Jane Kennedy: The Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are now arranging meetings with pharmaceutical industry associations to discuss aspects of service, communication and monitoring improvements. Some meetings with individual associations have already taken place, and further discussions will take place in the coming weeks.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency uses to ensure that deadlines for granting marketing authorisations for medicines are met.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 2 March 2006
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) uses a number of information technology system and staff management mechanisms to monitor the progress and completion of marketing authorisation applications. These include the automatic system flagging of applications when critical dates are due and weekly status checks by the assessment managers. In addition, applications processed through European approval procedures are monitored using a Eudranet IT system which links all of the European Community medicines regulatory agencies.

Mental Health

Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many young people are receiving treatment in secure units for mental illness resulting from cannabis abuse.

Liam Byrne: Only a small number of persons fall into this category. Due to reasons of patient confidentiality, the Department is unable to provide a precise figure.
	It is important to distinguish between cannabis causing mental illness and cannabis use that impacts upon a pre-existing mental illness.

Mental Health

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffered from (a) schizophrenia and (b) catatonia in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information about finished consultant episodes with a psychiatric primary diagnosis of either schizophrenia or catatonia between 1995–96 and 2004–05 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Primary diagnosis 
			 Data year Schizophrenia Catatonia 
		
		
			 2004–05(57) 39,500 210 
			 2003–04(57) 36,520 170 
			 2002–03 43,620 200 
			 2001–02 45,100 260 
			 2000–01 45,130 200 
			 1999–2000 45,360 220 
			 1998–99 46,120 250 
			 1997–98 45,470 220 
			 1996–97 45,140 280 
			 1995–96 45,490 300 
		
	
	(57)Figures for the years 2003–04 and 2004–05 have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data, and are ungrossed. Due to the sensitive nature of the data, figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Mental Health

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) males and (b) females have suffered from (i) severe depressive illness, (ii) catatonia and (iii) a prolonged or severe manic episode in each of the last five years for which information is available, broken down by age group.

Rosie Winterton: This information, by gender and age in England from 2000–01 to 2004–05, is shown in the tables.
	
		Table 1: Severe depressive illness in males
		
			  Data year 
			 Age 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04(58) 2004–05(58) 
		
		
			 Under 15 10 0 10 0 10 
			 15 to 24 250 230 250 240 210 
			 25 to 44 1,310 1,390 1,230 1,040 970 
			 45 to 64 1,170 1,330 1,180 920 980 
			 65 to 74 710 700 580 490 540 
			 75 and over 790 790 700 540 530 
			 Unknown 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Total 4,240 4,460 3,960 3,250 3,240 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Catatonia in males
		
			  Data year 
			 Age 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04(58) 2004–05(58) 
		
		
			 Under 15 0 0 0 0 0 
			 15 to 24 40 30 20 20 30 
			 25 to 44 60 100 60 50 60 
			 45 to 64 20 30 30 20 20 
			 65 to 74 0 0 0 0 10 
			 75 and over 10 0 0 10 0 
			 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 120 170 120 100 120 
		
	
	
		Table 3: Prolonged or severe mania in males
		
			  Data year 
			 Age 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04(58) 2004–05(58) 
		
		
			 Under 15 0 10 0 0 0 
			 15 to 24 450 420 380 360 370 
			 25 to 44 1,940 2,020 1,870 1,480 1,550 
			 45 to 64 1,310 1,360 1,310 1,040 1,120 
			 65 to 74 230 350 290 240 280 
			 75 and over 170 180 180 160 200 
			 Unknown 10 10 10 10 0 
			 Total 4,110 4,330 4,030 3,280 3,520 
		
	
	
		Table 4: Severe depressive illness in females
		
			  Data year 
			 Age 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04(58) 2004–05(58) 
		
		
			 Under 15 10 10 10 10 10 
			 15 to 24 290 270 280 240 250 
			 25 to 44 2,180 2,350 2,250 1,680 1,580 
			 45 to 64 2,250 2,230 2,160 1,810 1,770 
			 65 to 74 1,400 1,340 1,230 940 930 
			 75 and over 1,900 1,820 1,640 1,390 1,310 
			 Unknown 30 20 40 20 10 
			 Total 8,060 8,040 7,610 6,100 5,850 
		
	
	
		Table 5: Catatonia in females
		
			  Data year 
			 Age 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04(58) 2004–05(58) 
		
		
			 Under 15 0 0 0 0 0 
			 15 to 24 10 20 10 10 10 
			 25 to 44 30 40 30 30 30 
			 45 to 64 30 30 30 20 30 
			 65 to 74 10 0 10 10 10 
			 75 and over 0 0 10 10 10 
			 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 70 90 80 80 90 
		
	
	
		Table 6: Prolonged or severe mania in females
		
			  Data year 
			 Age 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–041 2004–051 
		
		
			 Under 15 10 10 20 0 0 
			 15 to 24 350 350 340 280 260 
			 25 to 44 2,090 2,270 2,030 1,610 1,690 
			 45 to 64 1,870 1,990 1,960 1,540 1,570 
			 65 to 74 560 630 520 470 520 
			 75 and over 340 390 370 320 310 
			 Unknown 0 0 20 10 0 
			 Total 5,220 5,630 5,260 4,240 4,360 
		
	
	(58)Figures for the years 2003–04 and 2004–05 have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data and are ungrossed. Due to the sensitive nature of the data, figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Mental Health

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long it took on average for a child to receive an initial assessment by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in the last period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: In 2002, only 24 per cent. of new cases were seen within four weeks; by 2004 that figure had risen to 51 per cent.
	The children's national service framework sets out the standards that need to be adopted by commissioners and providers of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). Adoption of these standards will ensure that all children and young people with mental health problems will have access to timely, integrated and high quality mental health services.
	Information on CAMHS waiting times is collected in the annual CAMHS mapping exercise which is shown in the table. The latest data relates to 2004. Further details of the mapping data is available on their website at www.camhsmapping.org.uk/.
	
		
			 Length of wait to be seen by CAMHS team Percentage of new CAMHS cases 
		
		
			 Under 4 weeks 51 
			 4 to 13 weeks 31 
			 13 to 26 weeks 11 
			 Over 26 weeks 8

Mental Health

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received regarding the mental health problems of children; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: We regularly receive written representations about the development of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) from those working in the national health service, parents and other interested parties.
	The CAMHS standard of the children's national service framework, published in September 2004, sets out the vision for CAMHS for the next 10 years. The Government's aim is that all children and young people, from birth to their 18th birthday, who have mental health problems, will have access to timely, integrated, high quality mental health services to ensure effective treatment and support, for them, their parents or carers, and other family members.

Mental Health

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been prescribed drugs for mental health problems in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information is not collected in the format requested. There are a number of mental health problems that affect children and young people that can be treated by medication. It is however for the clinical judgment of those caring for the child to decide whether they would benefit from medication or whether other treatment options should be explored first.

Mesothelioma

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research has been commissioned by her Department on the treatment and diagnosis of mesothelioma.

Jane Kennedy: None directly, but the Department is funding the national cancer research network, which is providing national health service infrastructure support for five mesothelioma studies funded by its research partners. Details of these studies can be found on the network's website at www.ncrn.org.uk.
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of individual projects, including a number concerned with the treatment and care of people with mesothelioma, can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Mini-motorcycles

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been treated in accident and emergency departments for injuries resulting from accidents involving unregistered mini-motorcycles in (a) Greater Manchester, (b) the North West and (c) England in the last two years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer March 2006
	The information requested is not collected centrally.

National Programme for Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley) of 13 February 2006, Official Report, column 1779W, on the National Programme for Information Technology, if she will break down the deployment by (a) hardware and (b) software; and what the age of the software was in each case.

Liam Byrne: The national programme has delivered new systems to thousands of locations in the national health service. The extent of deployment of the programme's many software suppliers' systems across the five regional cluster areas, as at the end of January 2006, is available in the Library. The breakdown of information requested could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost. Most application software has been developed, or substantially refreshed, since 2004 .

National Programme for Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what programmes are running as part of the National Programme for IT; and how responsibility for each programme is divided between her Department, strategic health authorities and NHS trusts.

Liam Byrne: The following products and services are being delivered through the National Programme for information technology (IT):
	NHS Care Records Service
	Choose and book electronic booking system
	Electronic prescriptions service
	New national network
	Picture archiving and communications systems
	IT supporting general practitioners (GPs), including the quality management and analysis system and a system for GP to GP record transfer
	The email and directory service.
	NHS Connecting for Health is the agency within the Department whose prime role is to procure and deliver the various strands of the programme, and to link these with relevant improvements in clinical processes and care services. Many millions of patients have already received improved and safer care as a result of the huge number of systems and services already made available through national programme developments.
	Strategic health authorities are responsible for co-ordinating local IT investment and modernisation activities to deliver benefits from all of the national programme products and services to patients, staff and the national health service. SHAs and local NHS organisations, together with their NHS Connecting for Health local cluster teams, develop local implementation plans.
	Trusts manage and deliver implementation within their organisations. They are responsible for designing and refining local procedures, communicating with the people involved and managing the overall change process. Local responsibility also includes clinical engagement and awareness, project resourcing, cleansing and preparing historical data for loading onto the new systems, training, and monitoring and reporting on the realisation of benefits. SHAs assist and support this process, for example by providing or coordinating SHA-wide specialist resources.

National Programme for Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent directly on the NHS IT programme; how much has been paid to consultants in relation to the project; and how much consultants have claimed in expenses.

Liam Byrne: The total programme and running cost expenditure by and on behalf of the Department on the national programme for informational technology in the national health service, from its inception in 2002 to 31 January 2006, was £1,024.319 million. £11.754 million (1.15 per cent.) of this total represents payments made to consultants. Accounting information does not record consultancy expenses separately from other consultancy costs, and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

National Programme for Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 469W, on the NHS IT programme, how the contracts with (a) iSoft and (b) System C Healthcare fit into the programme.

Liam Byrne: iSoft is a subcontractor of Accenture, the local service provider (LSP) for the national programme for information technology's North East and Eastern regional clusters. iSoft is also a subcontractor in the CSC Alliance, the LSP for the North West and West Midlands cluster. iSoft is the main supplier of clinical software for these clusters.
	System C Healthcare is a subcontractor of both Accenture and the CSC Alliance, and provides expertise on the installation and implementation of patient record systems at national health service trusts.

NHS Staff

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many (a) nurses and (b) consultants, broken down by specialism, were recruited from abroad in each (i)strategic health authority, (ii) Government office region and (iii) Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust in the last 12 months for which data is available; and what percentage of the total employed in each category these figures represent;
	(2)  how much was spent on recruiting (a) nurses and (b) consultants from abroad, broken down by specialism, in each (i) strategic health authority, (ii)Government office region and (iii) the Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust in the last 12 months for which data is available; and what percentage of the total employed in each category these figures represent.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

NHS Spending

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent per head of the population in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Hertfordshire in 2004–05.

Liam Byrne: The net operating expenditure on health per person in strategic health authority areas and England, for 2004–05, is shown in the following table.
	It is not possible to give figures for Hertfordshire, but the table provides information for the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority area. London is that area covered by the five London strategic health authorities.
	
		
			 Strategic health authority areas 2004–05 Expenditure (£000) Population Expenditure per head (£) 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority 1,747,876 1,649,615 1,059.57 
			 London 10,683,902 7,446,741 1,434.71 
			 England 61,501,753 50,050,385 1,228.80 
		
	
	Notes:
	Expenditure is taken as the revenue resource limits of the strategic health authorities and primary care trusts within the strategic health authority areas.
	Expenditure on general dental services and pharmaceutical services accounted for by the Dental Practice Board and Prescription Pricing Authority, respectively, are excluded. This expenditure cannot be included within the figures for the individual health bodies as they are not included in commissioner accounts.
	Sources:
	Audited strategic health authority summarisation forms 2004–05
	Audited primary care trust summarisation schedules 2004–05
	2003 based 2004 Office for National Statistics projections

NHS Tariff Uplift

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2006, Official Report, column 1322W, on the NHS Tariff Uplift, for what reasons the tariff uplift of 4 per cent. between 2005–06 and 2006–07 given in the Answer differs from the statement in paragraph 5.2, page 18 of her Department's document of 26 January 2006, The NHS in England: the operating framework in 2006–07, that the overall weighted increase across the full tariff in 2006–07 is 1.5 per cent.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 10 March 2006.
	Paragraph 34 of 'Implemention Payments by Results: Technical Guidance 2006–07; Executive Summary', published on January 26 2006 and available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/73/76/04127376.pdf, explains the difference between the 4.0 per cent. tariff uplift and 1.5 per cent. increase in the overall weighted value of the tariff between 2005–06 and 2006–07. Copies of this document are available in the Library.

NICE Appraisals

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's technology appraisal on drug misuse will take into account the potential impact on the budgets of (a) the police and (b) other crime prevention and enforcement agencies.

Jane Kennedy: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)'s technology appraisals of naltrexone as a treatment for relapse prevention for drug misusers and methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of opiate drug misuse will consider the potential impact on the national health service and the personal social services budgets. In addition work is being undertaken to ensure that NICE's independent advisory committee is aware of wider societal costs when making its recommendations.

NICE Appraisals

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who authorised the signing of the contract between the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Southampton Technology Assessment Centre (SHTAC) that provides that the cost-effectiveness model prepared by SHTAC for NICE for consideration in the technology appraisal of donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease cannot be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The contract, with the University of Southampton, for technology assessment review reports was authorised by the Department's director of research and development (R&D) and signed by an official on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health. It is a standard Departmental R&D contract, which invests intellectual property with the research contractor. Details of the relevant intellectual property policy is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/ResearchAndDevelopment.

Nurses (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses per 100 beds there have been in each hospital in Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 March 2006
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff per 100 average daily number of available and occupied beds, by sector, national health service organisations 1997–98 to 2004–05
		
			 Organisation 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 152 159 177 153 160 165 157 168 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 119 130 132 134 149 130 127 134 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 117 133 137 128 136 139 139 253 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 167 169 173 170 157 166 164 160 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Beds data are averaged over the period 1 April to 31 March
	2. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was comprised of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care and Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust from 1997 to 2003
	3. Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust was comprised of Blackpool Wyre and Fylde Community Health Services and Blackpool Victoria from 1997 to 2002
	4. Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust was comprised of Furness Hospitals NHS Trust, Westmorland Hospital NHS Trust and Lancaster Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in 1997
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH03 and NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Nursing Services

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases have been brought against the national health service for failure to provide free nursing services in the last five years; and what the outcome of each was.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 16 March 2006
	Information regarding the number of applications for review of national health care continuing health care cases, or the outcomes of individual cases are not held centrally.

Orthodontics

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to improve orthodontic treatment provision in Shropshire.

Rosie Winterton: The Department published guidance on 17 February 2006. This guidance Factsheet 11—Orthodontic new PDS agreements and new GDS contracts" can be found on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/03/20/04130320.pdf.
	This guideline takes into account discussions with the British Orthodontic Society and encompasses the new arrangements for orthodontic acre and treatment.

Osteomalacia/Osteoporosis

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence of (a) osteomalacia and (b) osteoporosis was in the UK in each of the last five years; and what the annual expenditure on the treatment of osteomalacia and osteoporosis was in each year.

Liam Byrne: Table 1 shows the incidence of osteomalacia and osteoporosis from 2000–01 to 2004–05.
	
		Table 1: All diagnoses count of patients for selected diagnoses national health service hospitals England, 2000–01 to 2004–05
		
			  Patient counts 
			  Osteomalacia Osteoporosis 
		
		
			 2000–01 837 48,671 
			 2001–02 1,050 56,454 
			 2002–03 971 56,027 
			 2003–04 911 57,849 
			 2004–05 783 62,443 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.
	We do not hold data which link treatment to disease and therefore cannot say how much was spent on treating a specific disease. The drugs used to treat osteomalacia and osteoporosis are also used to treat other disease. We are unable to provide a breakdown of the expenditure by the disease it was used to treat.
	The amount spent in each of the last five years are shown in table 2.
	
		Table 2: Expenditure
		
			  Cost (£ million) 
		
		
			 2000 1.99 
			 2001 2.43 
			 2002 2.36 
			 2003 2.40 
			 2004 2.48

Parliamentary Questions

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will answer question number 38287 tabled on 13 December by the hon. Member for Romsey.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 6 March 2006, Official Report, column 1204W.

PCT Finances

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on the practice of primary care trusts (PCTs) in financial deficit borrowing money from other PCTs in financial surplus with a commitment to repayment in future years; what guidance she has issued to PCTs on this; and whether she has specified appropriate levels of interest.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 13 March 2006
	Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are responsible for the financial management of the organisations within their area and for delivering overall financial balance across the SHA. Where a primary care trust (PCT) is overspending the SHA can agree to provide the organisation additional resources in the form of repayable planned support. The support should be agreed during the annual planning stage and should only be provided to overspending organisations on the basis that they deliver a plan to recover their financial position over an agreed period.
	SHA have discretion in how they operate the system of planned support. The Department does not specify whether they should charge or pay interest to PCT. In addition, since the SHA can only provide additional resources to an overspending organisation where another organisation underspends, the system of planned support operates on the basis of local agreement.
	In 2006–07, the Department has instructed SHAs that there should be no more provision of planned support. This will increase the transparency of the system because all overspending will be recorded in the annual accounts of the organisation. The Department has explained the system changes to SHAs in guidance for 2006–07 financial planning.

Physiotherapists

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many trainee physiotherapists are expected to qualify in 2006;
	(2)  how many new vacancies have been created for physiotherapists in the last 12 months; and how many of these vacancies were for newly-qualified physiotherapists.

Liam Byrne: Information relating to the number of new vacancies is not collected centrally.
	In 2003–04, 2,343 national health service physiotherapy training places were commissioned and students who successfully complete the programme will graduate in 2006.

Pregnancy

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to enable each pregnant woman to be cared for by one midwife throughout pregnancy;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to provide more choice for women in (a) (i) where and (ii) how their babies are delivered and (b) the use of pain relief in labour.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 March 2006
	The maternity standard of the national service framework for children outlines the importance of continuity of support by a named midwife throughout a woman's pregnancy. This is reinforced by the manifesto commitment, which states that by 2009
	every woman should be supported by a named midwife throughout her pregnancy",
	and that she will have a choice over
	where and how women have their baby and what pain relief to use".
	More recently, in the White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", the Government have made three further commitments to achieving a world-class maternity service.

Preventative Technologies Grant

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health over which two years the Preventative Technologies Grant described at paragraph 5.38 of the White Paper 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say' will be allocated; and how much of the grant is being provided in each of the two years, broken down by local authority.

Liam Byrne: The preventative technologies grant will be allocated in years 2006–07 and 2007–08; £30 million to be allocated in 2006–07 and £50 million in 2007–08. A local authority circular setting out the local authority allocations for both years is planned to be issued before 31 March 2006.

Rehabilitation Services

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for her Department's scoping review of rehabilitation services in health and social care; and what types of rehabilitation services will be covered by the review.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 15 March 2006
	Completion of this study is expected in April. The study has looked in broad terms at all aspects of rehabilitation provided by both the national health service and social care, other than those relating to mental health, as well as drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Residential Care

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in West Lancashire receiving residential care have the cost of the care paid for them by the NHS.

Liam Byrne: In the local delivery planning return for March 2005, West Lancashire primary care trust reported that is was funding continuing care placements for 121 people.
	The primary responsibility for supporting people who cannot afford to meet the full cost of residential care from their own resources rests with the council with social services responsibility. The latest information on local authority supported residents, including residents in the area of Lancashire county council, is available inthe statistical bulletin 'Community Care Statistics 2005: Supported Residents (Adults) England' on the NHS health and social care information website at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs

Rochdale Primary Care Trust

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) NHS clerical, administrative and management staff, (b) NHS hospital doctors and GPs and (c) NHS nurses and midwives there were in Rochdale primary care trust in each year since 1990.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 16 March 2006
	The information is not available in the requested format. The following table shows the hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS) doctors 1 , specified non-medical staff, general medical practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars 2 and practice staff 3 working within Rochdale primary care trust, as at 30 September each year from 2001 to 2004.
	
		Number (headcount)
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Rochdale PCT 
			 All HCHS doctors(59) n/a 12 12 15 
			 All general medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(60) 73 72 75 76 
			 GP registrars 2 3 3 6 
			 GP retainers 1 1 0 0 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff n/a 152 154 156 
			  
			 NHS infrastructure support n/a 63 69 95 
			 Clerical and administrative n/a 41 44 73 
			 Manager and senior manager n/a 22 25 21 
			  
			 GP practice staff(61) 216 256 243 239 
			 GP practice nurses 37 37 38 40 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	(59)Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are general practitioner (GPs) working part time in hospitals.
	(60)General medical practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars, includes contracted GPs, general medical services (GMS) others and personal medical services (PMS) others. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	(61)Practice staff includes: practice nurses, direct patient care, admin and clerical and other.
	Sources:
	Medical and Dental Workforce Census,
	General and Personal Medical Services Statistics,
	Non-Medical Workforce Census NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Section 64

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the distribution of Section 64 scheme grants; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Final decisions about the Section 64 General Scheme of Grants for 2006–07 have yet to be taken. An announcement will be made when the central budget review is completed.

Sexual Offences Act

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been of care workers under sections 38 to 41 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, broken down by profession.

Paul Goggins: I have been asked to reply.
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform are provided in the following table. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the profession of the defendants as this information is not collected.
	
		Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under sections 38 to 41 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, England and Wales 2004(62)  -- Number
		
			 Offence code  Principal statute  Offence description Proceeded against Found guilty 
		
		
			 7017 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.38(1–3) Care workers: sexual activity with a male person with a mental disorder—penetration 1 0 
			 7018 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.38(1–3) Care workers: sexual activity with a female person with a mental disorder—penetration 1 0 
			 7019 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.38(1,2,4) Care workers: sexual activity with a male person with a mental disorder—no penetration 0 0 
			 7020 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.38(1,2,4) Care workers: sexual activity with a female person with a mental disorder—no penetration 2 0 
			 7021 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.39(1–3) Care workers: causing or inciting sexual activity (person with a mental disorder)—penetration 0 0 
			 7022 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.39(1,2,4) Care workers: causing or inciting sexual activity (person with a mental disorder)—no penetration 0 0 
			 7023 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.40 Care workers: sexual activity in the presence of a person with a mental disorder 0 0 
			 7024 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.41 Care workers: causing a person with a mental disorder impeding choice to watch a sexual act 0 0 
		
	
	(62)These data are on the principal offence basis.
	Source:
	RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Strategic Health Authorities

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much she estimates will be top sliced from strategic health authority budgets in the year 2006–07;
	(2)  if she will reverse the decision to top slice primary care trust budgets to meet financial targets.

Jane Kennedy: The requirement for national health service organisations to bank reserves with their strategic health authority (SHA) was announced by the Department in The NHS in England: the operating framework for 2006–07".
	The amount of reserve to be banked and the terms of the agreement will be agreed with their SHA. SHAs are responsible for the financial management of the organisations within their area and for delivering financial planning targets agreed with the Department. Holding financial reserves is a prudent approach to financial management, so the Department is encouraging SHAs to hold reserves because it will help them deliver their financial targets.
	There are no plans to top slice SHA budgets, but any net overspending by organisations within a SHA area in 2005–06 will result in a reduced allocation in 2006–07 for that SHA in line with Government resource accounting and budgeting rules on the carry forward of over and under spending.

Strategic Health Authorities

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  on what date the interim chief executive posts for the new strategic health authorities are planned (a) to become operational and (b) to end;
	(2)  what job descriptions her Department has produced for the interim chief executive post of the new strategic health authorities;
	(3)  when the appointments of the interim chief executive posts for the new strategic health authorities were announced.

Liam Byrne: The strategic health authority (SHA) chief executives remain in post until the consultation on SHA and primary care trust reconfiguration has ended and Ministers make decisions about establishing any new SHAs.
	SHA boards remain statutorily accountable until any new SHAs are established.
	The Department has designated a transition lead for each potential new SHA area to ensure there is business continuity should new SHAs take over from July 2006. The transitional arrangements started on 1 February 2006 and will operate until any new SHAs are in place from July 2006. The Department has agreed a list of transition tasks which will be overseen by the transition leads. These are:
	business continuity;
	2006–07 planning;
	managing the change;
	motivation and engagement;
	communication.
	There is no separate job description for the role.

Syringes

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that syringes required to administer medicines to babies orally will be available on prescription; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: For such a specialist syringe to be prescribed on the national health service by a general practitioner or nurse prescriber it would need to be listed under Part IX of the Drug Tariff. It is up to a manufacturer or supplier to make an application for inclusion of suitable products on this list, which is managed by the Prescription Pricing Authority.
	There is provision in certain circumstances for patients to be provided with an oral syringe. When the prescribed dose of an oral liquid medicine is not five millilitres or whole multiples of five millilitres and the pack does not already include a suitable measuring devices, the pharmacy dispensing the medicines should provide a five millilitre plastic oral syringe.

Tourette's Syndrome

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what help and support is available for (a) parents, (b) professionals and (c) individuals dealing with Tourette's syndrome;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to ensure thathealth professionals are trained to recognise the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome;
	(3)  what steps her Department is taking to improve the general awareness of Tourette's syndrome.

Liam Byrne: A range of social, psychological and pharmacological interventions are available to support people living with Tourette's syndrome, their families and their carers. It is the responsibility of local healthand social care organisations to commission appropriate services based on local needs.
	The national service framework for long-term conditions (NSF) has been published to help drive up quality and reduce variations in the care provided by health and social care organisations. Through its quality requirements, the NSF addresses a key range of issues including the need for equitable access to a range of services; good quality information and support for patients and carers and the ability to see a specialist and get the right investigations and diagnosis as quickly as possible.
	The Government recognise that one of the key determinants in delivering high quality and effective patient care is that health professionals have an appropriate level of skills and knowledge. Addressing the training needs of health professionals is, however, the responsibility of the appropriate regulatory bodies. They set standards for the pre-registration training of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, approve the education institutions that provide the training and determine the curricula.
	Post-registration training needs for national health service staff are decided against local national health service priorities, through appraisal processes and training needs analyses informed by local delivery plans and the needs of the service. Local authorities and health service providers decide how best to provide services to meet the needs of the individuals.
	We have no specific plans to raise public awareness of the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome. NHS Direct, NHS Direct on-line and NHS Direct interactive have been established to provide advice and information on health and self-care. Through these services, people have access to information on a range of conditions and illnesses, including Tourette's syndrome.

Training Abroad (Cumbria)

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff from health trusts in Cumbria have been abroad on training courses in the last five years; and at what cost in each case.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally.

Turnaround Directors

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what she expects the total cost of turnaround directors to be; and whether the costs will be borne by (a) primary care trusts, (b) strategic health authorities and (c) the Department of Health.

Jane Kennedy: The turnaround teams were announced by the Secretary of State in a written ministerial statement on 1 December 2005, Official Report, column 37WS.
	The first stage of this is a baseline assessment, the aim of which is to ensure there is an agreed understanding of the local financial problem and that actions are in hand to address this. This was funded by the Department.
	Following the assessment, the local national health service will identify the actions needed to return the organisations to financial balance and what tailored support is needed to support local management. For the most challenged organisations, the first three months of a turnaround director will be funded by the Department. Otherwise, it is for the local NHS to decide on the funding streams.
	The Department will contract for the strategic healthauthority (SHA) turnaround directors to work alongside the transition SHA leaders.
	The Department has a budget of £6 million for turnaround work in 2005–06, which is expected to be far outweighed by the benefits of turnaround. Values of individual contracts are to be treated as commercial in confidence.
	I envisage that the turnaround teams will be needed to the end of 2006–07, when I expect the NHS to have returned to financial balance.

Waiting Times

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the results of her Department's diagnostics waiting time data collection.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 13 March 2006
	The new diagnostic data collection began in January 2006. As with many new data collections, it may take a number of months of collection before the data is of sufficient quality to be publishable. We hope to commence routine monthly publication of the data shortly to inform 18 weeks preparations.

Work Force Development Confederation Budgets

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total spending on workforce development confederation budgets was in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; and what the reasons are for the difference in the two figures.

Liam Byrne: The total spending on workforce development confederation budgets was £3,436 million in 2003–04 and £3,820 million in 2004–05. The increase in expenditure arises from medical school expansion, the additional costs of increased numbers of non-medical professional staff in training and the additional costs of inflation.

Silverlands Mansion, Surrey

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made with the sale by her Department of the Silverlands mansion in Chertsey, Surrey.

Liam Byrne: From October 1999 to the date of sale the Government spent £3,175,000 (average £46,691 per month) on building and maintenance works and £1,770,000 (average £26,029 per month) on site security relating to Silverlands.
	The property was sold by the Department on 23 May 2005.